PLAYPAL - A Telecommunication Device designed for Kids
In cooperation with Philips
Umeå Institute Of Design
10 weeks
Teammembers: Jovan Vulic
While enabling parents to get a hold of their children easily, PLAYPAL aims to enhance the kids everyday, real life experiences. With several playful modules, that allow for either solo exploration or fun games with friends, we want to help them to connect and learn. The PLAYPAL app aims to share experiences between kids and their parents and ease them into the handling of digital devices in company.
WE ARE IN THE MIDST OF A MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS.
Growing up in the digital era.
The rise of digital technology has brought a lot of positives to the world. However, growing up in a generation that has information ready on hand at any time, brings new problems to the table, heavily affecting teenagers and young adults.
The impact of social media has taken its toll.
The need for showing a seemingly perfect life has become a burden for many. And a long side instant gratification social media has been pushing the limits to what a person is capable of going through for attention and sense of belonging.
80 % of parents think, that owning a smartphone under the age of 12 is not okay.
The majority of parents agree that children should be at least 12 years old. This is often toplled by the fact that parents need to be able to get a hold of their children.
Yet as of 2019, more than 50 percent of children at age 11 already own a smartphone.
Regardless, as of 2019, more than 50 percent of children at age 11 already own a smartphone, 60 percent more than in 2015.
PARENTS WANT TO GET AHOLD OF THEIR KIDS EASILY.
In a day and age where everything is just a click away, parents expect to be able to reach their children anytime. In a survey from 2016, 90 percent of parents answered the reason for getting their kids wireless service is to get a hold of them easily. To achieve this, mobile phones are the only option today.
How might we allow parents to get hold of their children easily, while protecting kids from an early, negative exposure to the internet?
How might we help kids to ease into smartphone use and establish a healthy relationship with technology?
This is PLAYPAL.
PLAYPAL is a telecommunication device designed for kids. With several playful modules, that allow for either solo exploration or fun games with friends, PLAYPAL aims to enhance the kids everyday, real life experiences, while enabling parents to get ahold of their children easily.
Get the kids back outdoors!
With PLAYPAL we want kids to be more active off-screen again, empowering physical play and helping them to connect to their peers and learn together.
With friends...
Playpal offers for fun new ways to play with your friends outside. How about a round of Hide and seek, with a limited area to play in that shrinks to make the game more intense and information on who survived the longest undetected?
...or alone!
Or maybe you just feel like exploring a bit on your
own today? Playpal has got you covered. Equipped
with the camera and magnifying glass your
neighbourhood awaits to be discovered!
On any adventure, always just a call away.
With PLAYPAL, parents retain the peace of mind to be able to reach out to your child - and vice versa - at any time.
Make it yours.
Kids love showing off. PLAYPAL can be personalized through series of modules and colors, to complement the local sports club or the favorite superhero’s outfit.
Modules can be swapped and traded with friends, to form the perfectly equipped squad for the next adventure.
It is a three-way experience!
Both stakeholders involved get their own dedicated features and all the information they need, but when they come together is when the magic happens!
Children:
The main user of the physical Playpal. Being a trusty companion on all adventures, Playpal offers a wide range of features to explore and connect, while always being able to reach out for a parent if needed.
Children and parents:
The digital side of Playpal enables the children to relive their discoveries and achievements in their parents company. This way, parents get to share their childrens experience and can help them ease into the use of digital devices in a controlled environment.
Parents:
The parents side of the digital Playpal allows for parents to keep track of their childrens activities and whereabouts, making them independent while just being a call away.
Sharing Experiences
"What were you up to today?"
PLAYPAL aims to improve the connection of children to their parents. With PLAYPAL, parents can share the experiences their kids had, relate and add to them, strengthening their bond.
Joystick
Scrolling through the different menue-options using the joystick is just pure fun!
Action Button
Depending on the module/setting, the action button changes its purpose.
An introduction to PLAYPAL.