This is quite ingenious. A great way have the kids use the iPad to integrate real world activities. Ex-Google engineer Pramod Sharma figured out how to harness the iPad addictive powers as an educational tool. The result, called Osmo uses the iPad’s camera and display to turn any table into an interactive learning lab.
(Make sure you check out the video below to see it in action.)
Osmo uses letter tiles, colored blocks, random dinosaur action figures, and even a kid’s stick figure drawings as video game controllers when placed in the camera’s field of view. Osmo’s sophisticated vision systems recognizes the objects and uses them to trigger animations and effects on screen.
Three apps come with Osmo: Tangram, which adds interactive chrome to the millennia old block puzzles; Words, a tactile take on Hangman and other spelling games; and Newton, a physics simulator that reacts to objects and drawings in the camera’s field of view. Sharma plans to open the system up to third party game developers and says “we believe we can add magic to so many existing tangible experiences.”
The wonderful part is that the kiddos rarely touch the screen, instead, interactivity is embodied in everyday objects. The goal is to make the iPad social..which most parents are probably very in favor of . Available here!
