The market
The global market for ludo-educational toys reached $ 5.5 billion in 2010, more than triple in five years. A quarter of all toys are sold in the United States. Educational games will continue to grow quickly as the cost of electronics continues to drop. However, parents push the market with their clear demand to manufacturers to increase the educational value of toys and gadgets. Since 30 % of babies in OECD countries are born from easy mothers who make education their number one priority, sales will continue to increase in the years to come. Although this trend is strong in all areas, Asian parents excel in their commitment to raising the intelligence of their offspring, in particular in countries like Korea, China and Vietnam. They follow Plato's wisdom, the Greek philosopher who wrote in his standard work laws: "We should learn to use children's games to channel their pleasures and their desires towards which they must participate when they are adults. » Toy manufacturers have expanded their range of products and now target the ludo-educational for babies from the age of 9 months. Nintendo, PlayStation and Xbox first penetrated the market with simple games without any education. Now, content providers for equipment such as Electronic Arts Inc. (USA) spend a billion dollars for research and product development that enter the electronic educational toys market which offer better margins than the average of toys Disney or Pixar brand. As mothers who work spend more than double their time than working (48 % against 19 %) to be parents rather than developing their professional career, they have the greatest influence on the content of learning and Toys. The best -selling learning toy in modern history is Rubik's Cube, the 3D mechanical puzzle invented in 1974 by the Hungarian sculptor and professor of Hungarian architecture Erno Rubik. At the end of 2011, nearly 400 million "magic" cubes were sold worldwide. The LEGO company offers colorful nestable plastic bricks which can be assembled to build vehicles, bridges and even robots. The concept of the toy was originally designed in 1932 by the Danish Ole Kirk Christiansen who produced wooden toys that play well (Leg Godt in Danish). Already in 1947, the company converted to the plastic to facilitate interlocking. The Lego group estimates that more than 400 billion Lego bricks were sold during the first fifty years of existence. The company manufactures 360 million tiny rubber tires each year and could therefore be considered the largest tire manufacturer in the world. It is only 1% of the 36 billion units produced annually, which represents a turnover of $ 2.8 billion in 2010. Since then, Lego has extended to games, videos and even parks of attractions.
Innovation
Experts question the opportunity to expose children to learning from an early age when they still need to play. Some academics argue that a cardboard box, a headache and a game of wood bricks would teach children as much as an application on the iPad. Then there are video games that offer educational content like Sim City in addition to being fun. However, video games with Ludo-educational remain a small segment of the market. One of the most innovative ideas is to make the toys edible for toddlers. Now that traditional teaching is increasingly imbued with electronics and children learn differently using computers and iPad, the key question remains: when and how could children learn to use the 'electronic? Jordan McRae grew up as a inventor and is passionate about diving. His dream is to innovate in the field of renewable energies, clean water and ocean conservation. He believes that the world is currently faced with the most difficult problems in these three areas. He studied at MIT and has committed to finding simple, sustainable and scalable solutions. It was a network of designers and inventors from around the world who share its passion while quickly evolving on the learning curve through co-innovations with partners in various countries like Hong Kong, Guatemala and France . He has teamed up with Shawn Frayne (Case 12) on aeroelastic vibration technology - which is still under development - in the hope that one day it could work without any metal. He has thought about learning platforms for electronic systems that are solely powered by solar energy. He wanted to create a tool that switches without wires or welding. He was considering a system that could be changed quickly by rotation. It looks like a mixture between Lego and the Rubik's Cube fueled forever by the sun. Jordan and his team created B-Square, a strange brand name since it is a 3D device. A more sophisticated name has also been used: solemnino. It is based on (1) Arduino-Square, an open source micro-computer that allows the development of computer software, and incorporates a wide range of electronic equipment for prototyping, (2) a solar square producing energy Bright, (3) a square with three white and color LEDs and (4) a battery square that stores power. Each square has a magnetic contact in the corner that switches and simultaneously transmits electrical signals and power. This facilitates the assembly and rapid adaptation by simple rotation of the squares. These B-Squares are equipped with a micro-aspiration which allows them to be fixed at a window or a wall. It was a great inspiration for geckos who have been practicing the concept of adhesion without glue for millennia. The entire installation is expandable and modular. This multifunctional approach, which creates a learning platform by designing and making free software using only available electronics, is a typical approach to blue economy in innovation innovation
The first cash flow
Jordan and his team work quickly. A first rapid sketch launched the project in January 2011. It took three months to define how to integrate solar energy into a versatile, portable and simple toy for amateurs, students and any other person. A supervised test with children of 2 years quickly demonstrated that it takes less than 10 minutes to determine when and how the lights light up and go out, or change color. While the ideas were good, the money supply was reduced. Jordan and Shawn turned to Kickstarter, a financing platform for creative projects and raised in 30 days to 1,110 donors a total of $ 145,000, thanks to the pre-sale of their invention. The interest was overwhelming and additional liquidity was now available, not from investors, but from customers who started early. The team could take the time to perfect their proposal and improve it. Start with a company where your first thousand customers provide the first sums of money, eliminating the need for financing from banks or investors, implies that inventors can advance things independently, while outpatient Start-ups in terms of cash flow. If you are profitable on the first day, you have not only great technology, but also changed the rules of the innovation game.
The opportunity
The B-Squares are intended to make everyone at ease with the heart of electronic gadgets, and be inspired to create their own devices based on the functions they imagine. The B-Squares are not for hackers who are united themselves, nor for manufacturers who have a certain level of comfort with electronics. The B-Squares offer plug-in solutions and add functions to existing electronic products in a single criterion: the game of creativity. These squares can quickly transform low -voltage direct current devices into solar energy devices. All of these DC instruments can be connected to LED lamps, which eliminates the need for transformers. Each phone, iPad and computer charger can be replaced by a series of squares, equipped with a motion detector to turn on the lights or a sound beep with each opening or closing of the window. The B-Squares do not replace anything, they add usefulness and allow everyone to infinitely personalize their electronic devices. The market potential is therefore infinite.
