A lot of kids love iPads, to the point where they’re almost never just, y’know, playing with kids stuff. Osmo is a nifty little gadget that does both, encouraging kids to play with tangible, real-world toys that magically interact with games on the iPad’s screen. And you can pre-order one through Osmo’s crowdfunding campaign starting today.
Osmo comes in three parts: the software, the game pieces and the iPad stand. The whole trick is powered by the smart little mirror attachment, which turns the iPad camera’s eye down toward the tabletop to watch how players are manipulating the game pieces.
Osmo will launch with three games. Newton has players building structures that guide on-screen orbs into goals, using either a paper and pencil or any physical object to make a barrier that appears on screen. With Tangram, players use geometric puzzle pieces to match the shapes show on screen. And Words has kids arranging letter tiles to spell whatever’s shown on screen.
Osmo is the first project launched by Tangible Play, which is launching a $US50,000 crowdfunding campaign today to get Osmo out the door. Presale backers can get the $US100 kit for $US50, with units slated to ship in the third quarter of 2014. Just in time to get your kids to (sort of) put down the iPad and play with some real toys. [Osmo]