6 - "Continue Prototyping" Hardware Decisions

Last week we had a meeting where we discussed hardware that can be applied to this product. There were various aspects of hardware that were considered. We talked about implementing a big dial on the console where the child or parent will be able to select each activity be turning this dial.

By enforcing this suggestion it will allow the child to easily interact with the console and create a better understanding. In view of the fact that children interact with things through their sense of touch the idea of a dial seemed extremely beneficial and can be easily adapted to.

Further on into the discussion we decided to replace this dial with a slider. We felt that a slider would be a lot more straight forward to use and will not use as much space on the console as oppose to a slider.

Another feature in which we felt can be used to an advantage is a stylus. Many products use this feature using magnetic fields. The picture shows an example of this where a child is capable of drawing pictures and erasing it by sweeping across the eraser. The stylus used can also draw thick and thin lines. This encouraged us to generate a stylus to allow the child to draw, select and colour on this console. The stylus will have the ability to enhance their writing skills, drawing and colouring skills whilst using the different activities available. The stylus will be operated just like a pencil where the eraser will be placed on top of the stylus to incorporate the look and feel of a pencil.

Camera: 1.3 Mega Pixel Tilt Camera

The camera was also a feature which we decided to use. There were many different positions we considered to place the camera. To guarantee this feature could be used to enhance the child’s technology skills we considered placing the camera at the front of the console where the camera would have the ability to move just like the LG phone. This is what motivated us to use an adjustable camera. The advantages of this camera will enable the child to take pictures of themselves and things around them. We also thought of having the camera as an attachable feature, which would be combined with a printing feature where both accessories will detached appropriately. We decided not to embrace this feature as it may cause confusion and may be little hard to understand. Finally we decided position the camera at the back of the console where the child will have to pick it up and take a picture as you would do with a normal camera. The button used to take the picture would be appropriately placed on the handle so when the console is lifted it is easily accessible.

The handles for the console was also another feature that needed some thought. Firstly we decided of having a handle at the top of the console so it can be held like a school bag. This suggestion was removed as it would be hard for the child to take pictures with one handle. We talked about ways it would be best for a child to hold the console without it dropping and easily accessible to take pictures. Further more we decided to have a handle on either side of the console to ensure the best way of grasping the console.

Children within the range of 19 to 36 months enjoy listening and playing to music therefore considered implementing a keyboard function. The keyboard function would play music and highlight the keys used for the child to repeat back. It would also play music and allow the child to play along too. Additionally we decided not to have the keyboard on the console but as an alternative to have a touch keyboard displayed on the screen when using the music function.