Topobo 23 Feb 2009

Invented by by Hayes Raffle and Amanda Parkes at the MIT Media Lab, Topobo is a sort of cross between Lego and Soda Play:

"Topobo is the world's first construction toy with kinetic memory, the ability to record and playback physical motion. Snap together Passive (static) and Active (motorized) pieces into a creation, and with a press of a button and a flick of your wrist, you can teach your creation how to dance or walk. The same way you can learn how buildings stand by stacking up blocks, you can discover how animals walk by playing with Topobo."

Let's hope that the designers can find a way to reduce the price - as its current RRP of $499 per 100 piece kit will keep this product out of the hands of the very audience it would inspire the most: kids. (Note: Topobo is very much seen an educational tool and is intended to be sold to schools but wouldn't great if it were affordable enough for parents to give it to their children as a gift? Or even, for kids to be able to save up for it themselves?)

More videos are available on the Topobo site - as are some interesting research papers.

[via Pixelsumo]