Sensory Toys

Inspiration

We drew inspiration from Meera's older sister, who's a professional speech language pathologist who works with children with all sorts of developmental delays. Thus the cause of helping kids learn to communicate is a topic that is near and dear to both of our hearts.

What it does

A series of sensory toys for over- and under-stimulated children on the autism spectrum. The first toy is an interactive interface with touch sensors that send a signal to an LED to emit a certain colour light based on the sensor touched. Different sensors have different touch intensities. The second sensory toy is a gesture controlled car toy that moves back and forth in response to gestures from the child.

How we built it

For the first toy we used a comprehensive online documentation form for all the sensors used to learn how to wire and code the different sensors, then implemented what we learned into one giant system. The Arduino received signals from the touch sensors and transmitted it to the LED. The second toy was build via attaching a motor to wheels and controlling the motor inputs with an Arduino which received its own inputs from a Myo armband.

Challenges we ran into

Challenges we ran into were mainly a lack of time as we were designing 2 systems for one 12 hour event.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We're proud of our toys, as for being able to implement all kinds of sensor detecting devices such as a Myo armband and various touch sensors.

What we learned

We learned how to use various sensor types for Arduinos, as well as expanded and learned more about how to use a Myo armband.

What's next for Sensory Toys

To refine the prototypes, perhaps use Lilypad Arduinos to make the designs a lot more compact and less intimidating as our target audience is children. Additionally, we can add further command features such as turning and reversing directions for the car toy and more sensor and output options for the sensory interface toy.

Built With

• 37-in-1-arduino-sensor-kit
• arduino-api
• arduino-mega-2560
• arduino-uno
• myo