O'block

O'block

Capstone Project
An educational toy for preschoolers to tidy up their building blocks by themselves
DESIGNER(S)
IN COLLABORATION WITH
MAJOR
Industrial Design
FACULTY
Sang-gyeun Ahn
Building blocks have become one of the must-have toys for preschoolers because of the various value that they provide. But, these blocks always create a huge mess. Seeing this situation, most parents prefer to tidy up the blocks for the children because it's simpler and faster. But, this is not the point. As experts have claimed, cleaning up after themselves for children is the second-best way to develop their sense of responsibility while making them feel special. O’block is an interactive, standing toy designed specifically for preschoolers. The toy encourages children to tidy up their building blocks by themselves and can work as a storage for the toys. In terms of materials, O’block is made out of child-friendly materials like plastics, acrylics, and metal with rounded edges. The device has foldable plastic frames, some mechanical parts like gears, an acrylic hourglass frame, cap, bowls, toys door, bottom cap, motherboard, 4 speaker cones, 2 speaker grill, flexible screen, and a micro USB port for charging. To use the toy, parents must choose 8 block shapes to display on the O'block, set up a time limit for children's playtime, and stick 8 chosen shape stickers on the toys upon purchase. When the children want to play, parents can spin the hourglass frame, O'block will start a countdown based on a time limit set by parents. Once the timer reaches zero, the device will automatically return to its original position. Next, children will start putting the blocks based on the shape that's displayed on the O'block screen. When the toy reaches low-battery, the toys will notify users so that they can connect it to the charger. This allows users to bring O'block anywhere they want, indoor or outdoor, and have fun playing while tidying up.
DESIGNER(S)
MAJOR
Industrial Design
FACULTY
Sang-gyeun Ahn
UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
DIVISION OF DESIGN