The market
The global market for educational toys reached $5.5 billion in 2010, more than tripling in five years. A quarter of all toys are sold in the United States. Educational games will continue to grow rapidly as the cost of electronics continues to fall. However, parents are driving the market with their clear demand for manufacturers to increase the educational value of toys and gadgets. Given that 30% of babies in OECD countries are born to affluent mothers who make education their top priority, sales will continue to rise in the coming years. While this trend is strong across all sectors, Asian parents excel in their commitment to nurturing their offspring's intelligence, particularly in countries like Korea, China, and Vietnam. They follow the wisdom of Plato, the Greek philosopher who wrote in his Standard Labor Laws: "We should learn to use children's games to channel their pleasures and desires toward activities in which they must participate when they are adults." Toy manufacturers have expanded their product range and are now targeting educational toys for babies as young as nine months. Nintendo, PlayStation, and Xbox initially entered the market with simple games lacking any educational content. Now, content providers for hardware, such as Electronic Arts Inc. (USA), are spending billions of dollars on research and development for products entering the electronic educational toy market, which offer higher profit margins than the average Disney or Pixar branded toy. Since working mothers spend more than twice as much time as working fathers (48% vs. 19%) on parenting rather than career advancement, they have the greatest influence on the content of learning toys. The best-selling educational toy in modern history is the Rubik's Cube, the 3D mechanical puzzle invented in 1974 by the Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture, Erno Rubik. By the end of 2011, nearly 400 million of these "magic" cubes had been sold. the world. The LEGO company offers colorful, interlocking plastic bricks that can be assembled to build vehicles, bridges, and even robots. The toy concept was originally conceived in 1932 by the Dane Ole Kirk Christiansen, who produced wooden toys that played well (leg godt in Danish). As early as 1947, the company switched to plastic to facilitate interlocking. The LEGO Group estimates that more than 400 billion LEGO bricks were sold in its first fifty years. The company manufactures 360 million tiny rubber tires each year and could therefore be considered the world's largest tire manufacturer. This represents only 1% of the 36 billion units produced annually, which generated $2.8 billion in revenue in 2010. Since then, LEGO has expanded into games, videos, and even theme parks.
Innovation
Experts are debating the wisdom of exposing children to learning at such a young age, while they still need to play. Some academics argue that a cardboard box, a puzzle, and a set of wooden blocks can teach children just as much as an iPad app. Then there are video games that offer educational content, like SIM City, in addition to being fun. Yet, video games with edutainment remain a small segment of the market. One of the most innovative ideas is to make toys edible for toddlers. Now that traditional teaching is increasingly infused with electronics, and children are learning differently using computers and iPads, the key question remains: when and how can children learn to use electronics? Jordan McRae grew up as an inventor and is passionate about scuba diving. His dream is to innovate in the fields of renewable energy, clean water, and ocean conservation. He believes the world is currently facing its most challenging problems in these three areas. He studied at MIT and is committed to finding simple, sustainable, and scalable solutions. He has built a network of designers and inventors worldwide who share his passion while rapidly progressing along the learning curve through co-innovations with partners in various countries, including Hong Kong, Guatemala, and France. He partnered with Shawn Frayne (Case 12) on aeroelastic vibration technology—still under development—hoping that one day it could operate without any metal. He has been thinking about learning platforms for electronic systems powered solely by solar energy. He wanted to create a tool that snaps together without wires or soldering. He envisioned a system that could be quickly modified by rotation. It looks like a cross between LEGO and a Rubik's Cube, powered forever by the sun. Jordan and his team created B-square, an unusual brand name for a 3D-printed device. A more sophisticated name was also used: Solarduino. It's based on (1) the Arduino-Square, an open-source microcomputer that enables software development and integrates a wide range of electronic hardware for prototyping, (2) a solar square that produces light energy, (3) a square with three white and colored LEDs, and (4) a battery square that stores power. Each square has a magnetic contact in its corner that engages and simultaneously transmits electrical signals and power. This facilitates quick assembly and adaptation by simply rotating the squares. These B-squares are equipped with a micro-suction device that allows them to be attached to a window or wall. This was a great inspiration for geckos, which have practiced the concept of glue-free adhesion for millennia. The entire system is expandable and modular. This multifunctional approach, which creates a learning platform through the design and development of free software using only available electronics, is a typical approach to innovation within the Blue Economy
The first cash flow
Jordan and his team worked quickly. A first, rapid sketch launched the project in January 2011. It took three months to figure out how to integrate solar power into a versatile, portable, and simple toy for hobbyists, students, and anyone else. A quick supervised test with two-year-olds demonstrated that it takes less than 10 minutes to determine when and how the lights turn on and off, or change color. While the ideas were good, the cash flow was limited. Jordan and Shawn turned to Kickstarter, a crowdfunding platform for creative projects, and in 30 days raised a total of $145,000 from 1,110 backers through pre-sales of their invention. The interest was overwhelming, and additional cash was now available, not from investors, but from early adopters. The team could take the time to refine and improve their product. Starting a business where your first thousand customers provide the initial funding, eliminating the need for bank or investor financing, means inventors can move forward independently while outperforming most startups in terms of cash flow. If you're profitable from day one, you not only have a great technology, but you've also changed the rules of the innovation game.
The opportunity
B-squares are designed to make everyone comfortable with the core of electronic gadgets and inspire them to create their own devices based on the functions they imagine. B-squares aren't for hackers who solder themselves, nor are they for manufacturers with a certain level of comfort with electronics. B-squares offer plug-in solutions and add functionality to existing electronic products based on a single criterion: the power of creativity. These squares can quickly transform low-voltage DC devices into solar-powered ones. All these DC instruments can be connected to LED lights, eliminating the need for transformers. Every phone, iPad, and computer charger can be replaced by a series of squares, equipped with a motion detector to turn on lights or a beep every time a window is opened or closed. B-squares don't replace anything; they add utility and allow everyone to endlessly personalize their electronic devices. The market potential is therefore limitless.
