Filmstrips on the barrel organ: rakes, cones and pitfalls

Filmstrips are remembered by all the comrades of my generation, and for most it remains a vivid memory. I wanted my own children to also have the experience of collectively viewing books on the big screen. Content can be found on the network, it remained to come up with a controller for paging. And so, once again, watching the child rotate the grinder with pleasure, the thought arose that this is a great kids interface for flipping through pictures.



Housing



The first thought, of course, was to use the case from a manual coffee grinder: for coffee grinders, the handles are well thought out and this is especially important for developing children's pens.

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Then a Maestro manual food processor, also with a handle very comfortable for the child, came across. But, as in the case of coffee grinders, it was embarrassing that the child was forced to rotate the handle only in one plane, which limited the space for the experiment.











It would seem that the manufacturers of the barrel music toys should have already worked through this question and figure out what shape the body should have and where it should have a handle for the children to be comfortable. Unfortunately, all the street-organs in the children's store had monstrous pens (the economy should be economical).



But - lo and behold! - In the store, another sharmankopodobnaya toy - a box with a clown jumping out.











1. The body had the shape of a cube and this made it possible to play with the plane of rotation, simply turning the cube on different faces.



2. The handle had a great rotating ball at the end.



3. The hull was spacious enough to accommodate all the necessary hardware. Remove the clown is not difficult.



A mechanical encoder was used as a rotation sensor. From the encoder, the signal went to the Arduino Uno and was transmitted via USB to the computer, and the script on the Pure Data turned the movements of the handle into keystrokes of the keyboard. It remained to find a reader that is controlled from the keyboard.



Reader



Find a reader that allows you to create your books with voice acting and even flipping from the keyboard, it was not easy. As a result, we managed to dig out the excellent software FlippingBook Publisher (god bless torrents).



There are practically no Russian-speaking illustrated books with voice acting, but on the tablet you can find a couple of dozen. To gain content, I bought several books through the Kinderbook mobile app and ripped screenshots from audio. As it turned out later, it was possible not to engage in piracy, but simply to ask the publisher of the Pasha application for all the sources.



The child did not need to learn how to use the device, but it was necessary to adjust the speed and directions of rotation - what angle of rotation turned the page, and where to turn to scroll forward. I tried to track the most intuitive option for a person and customized it in Pure Data. As a result, managed to ensure that the flipping took place quite naturally.









As it turned out, unexpectedly for me, the child understands when you need to turn the page without additional signals, just listening to the voice acting, by intonation and meaning.



Games



In addition to paging, the barrel organ can play games. At babyfirsttv.com is a selection of online games for kids who are sharpened under the control of two or just one button of the keyboard. It was a godsend, since most online games require a mouse or a few keys.



We chose the game for one button "Space". Rabbit rides on a pickup and picks up the animals. The speed of movement depends on the intensity of keystrokes. In our case, the child is turning the knob, which, it seems to me, is more natural for the transfer of speed than the button.







Startup



The idea of ​​a startup was to open a library of illustrated books sounded, which children would watch as filmstrips. First, the device opens up a new dimension for children's interaction with the computer, especially for the fine motor skills of the child. Secondly, young children will be able to watch and listen to books on their own, instead of constantly sticking to youtube. And thirdly, there is simply no such thing in runet.



We began the search for investors and partners from the exhibition "Childhood 2014", which was held in Moscow in early March. The organizers let us go for free, as participants of the "innovation club", who were allocated on a separate table.



To make an impression on the exhibition, we got rid of the wires, replacing USB with Bluetooth, wrote a “bookshelf” from which a person could choose books and open them in FlippingBook. To open books on the case, they brought out a separate button, and the project itself was called "Krutishka".









Of course, the product was too raw for a line of investors to line up, but it was possible to get acquainted with potential partners. Publishers of children's literature agreed to give their content and explained under what conditions. Networks of children's stores told how cooperation with them might look. Already outside the scope of the exhibition, distributors of developmental aids for preschool institutions became interested in the device. It became clear what to do next.









What's next:



1. Establish the release of a small batch of devices to understand what the cost of the device will be for buyers.



2. Develop electronics and pick up such materials for the body, which can be certified for children.



3. Write software that any housewife can run on her computer.



4. Attract resources.



5. Identify the centers of competence that will tell you how to implement the previous points, avoiding rakes, cones and pitfalls.



Competency Points



Russian Startup Rating gathered 8 investment experts who gave free advice to startups in the mode of 20 minutes each. As a result, the project was assigned not even the worst rating , but the main ones identified promising options for development:



- universal children's joystick for computer and Smart-TV,

- device for children's correctional institutions with state funding,

- A device for users of existing children's online readers.

- crowdfunding



I am studying state support measures for innovations for which such a project can be packaged. In any case, it is necessary to understand how to produce and how much the device will cost during serial production. Without this, it is useless to even apply for a grant.



It seems that we managed to agree with TsMIT to release a small batch, cutting parts on a laser cutter, and bending the handles manually on a scab. In general, the work is not an open edge, and you only have to do it in two hands, so, dear habro-parents, who want to risk time and / or money - welcome to the team!