Note: I no longer work with IonLab since Nov 12 of 2009.
When I meet people and have a conversation, they eventually ask the question “So, what do you guys do?”
I like to say “We make stuff” but that’s hardly understandable. The best example I like to give is the Swinxs (found via Springwise).
The Swinxs games console is designed for active games both inside and outdoors. The Swinxs console can talk, can recognize, encourages and explains games. It even acts as referee. The console is light, compact and due to its sustainable battery, is easy to take with you to the park, playground or the beach.
My favorite part is that the children get RFID-tagged colorful bracelets to wear. The tags serve multiple purposes from identifying each participant to keeping track of their scores. For example, if there’s a running race, the child can just bring their hand close to the game console at the finish line, and it’ll immediately recognize you and tell how much time you took.
And there are a lot more games to play:
The downloadable games are divided into age and category. The games possibilities are endless and vary from traditional hide and seek to educational quizzes and adventurous games. The games can be downloaded FREE from this website. Stories and music can also be downloaded on the Swinxs, as well as games.
The video demo showcases the product really well:
Kids these days are addicted to gadgets like Gameboys, mobile phones, etc. The Swinxs is in the same category but it actually encourages them to be more physically active as well as more social with other kids.
There are many other salient features that appeal to us:
- It is useful. Especially in terms of providing functionality that is not normally available through any other means.
- The device connects you with the real world. It’s not a world onto its own.
- It is fun.
This is the kind of stuff that we dream of, the kind of stuff that we like to work on.
What’s interesting is such products bridge the offline world and the computer/online worlds. After all, shouldn’t technology be helping you to live a better offline life, than making you spend more time with the technology itself?
Note: Cross-posted to our company blog.