(http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/05/toy-robot-alonso-inostrosa-psijas-flickr.jpg) (http://www.engadget.com/2013/05/15/play-i-building-educational-robots-for-kids/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget)
We've seen software and even TV shows (http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/02/adafruit-circuit-playground/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget) that teach younger kids about technology, but we haven't really seen ready-made educational robots for that age group -- and no, AIBO (http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/26/video-rolly-conducts-choir-of-aibos-crowd-goes-wild/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget) and Furby (http://www.engadget.com/2012/07/06/furby-hands-on-video/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget) don't count. Play-i, a new startup involving former Apple and Google employees, thinks it's time that the younger set receives some truly helpful mechanical companions. The company tells AllThingsD that it's developing robots that 5 to 8 year olds can program through mobile devices, teaching them about code in a more tangible way than a device screen would allow. While details of the robots are scarce, the team is shooting for sub-$100 prices that parents could afford: these bots may not be limited to classrooms. We'll hopefully discover more when Play-i starts a crowdfunding campaign in the summer, although it will still be a long while before we're picking up Junior's First Automaton.
[Image credit: Alonso Inostrosa Psijas, Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/alonsoinostrosa/3323925233/)]
Filed under: Robots (http://www.engadget.com/category/robots/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget)
Comments (http://www.engadget.com/2013/05/15/play-i-building-educational-robots-for-kids/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget#comments)
Source: AllThingsD (http://allthingsd.com/20130514/one-robot-per-child-former-googler-apple-engineer-tackle-educational-bots/?mod=atdtweet)
Via: Engadget