Imagination Case

I directed the development of the prototype and demo content for this app powered children’s toy in early 2017.  When connected to a tablet, the walls of the toy’s enclosure are projected with environments that the child can directly control and modify, creating dynamic worlds for their play.

Utilizing a pico projector and an extreme wide angle lenses, the software displays controls on the tablet and content inside the toy.  After overcoming the technical obstacles associated with compensating for the lens distortion via software, I led our company’s design and animation teams in the development of six unique themes that could be loaded in the app.  We also created a ‘build your own’ mode, allowing children to draw their own digital designs into the box.

The app allows users to select and place different effects in the projected image.

The prototype debuted at the 2017 New York Toy Fair to great manufacturer interest, and we’ve continued discussions with a number of partners about the ramp up to full scale production.

On the left is a standard grid as projected through the wide angle lens. The right shows flat grids mapped by our software to the surfaces.
A virtual camera captures the mix of realtime 3D content and pre-rendered media.
The image is then distorted for projection through the fisheye lens into the play space.
The app includes the ability to dynamically calibrate the image in the box, live updating the lens distortion so that the projected image is accurate even if there are shifts in physical alignment.