Form a Magus: Interactive Storytelling For Children
Overview
In our limited scope of attention, technology has been implicitly restricted to objects with pixels and a back-light, sacrificing all the tactile richness of working with our hands, which is much-needed learning for complete developmental growth. This project, namely Form-a-Magus, enables ordinary forms to act as tangible tokens, brought to life by an intuitive technological back end. The intelligent computer vision interface recognizes the forms created and augments a visual projection of the possible real-life counterpart onto the form. This digital augmentation can be then moved around the story space and made to interact with other elements in the space, achieved with the help of computer vision and leap-motion sensors which support micro-gestures. The children create using objects hands and learn through immersion by thinking with hands, visuals and materials, together.
A child’s journey of this interface has been described as below:
1. Child creates a 3D form using any material like sand, paper etc.
2. Camera captures the form and the software correlates it to the existing forms in database using image processing. The projector correspondingly projects the associated image.
3. The projected image can now be moved around the surface and be made to interact with other images on the surface.
The above setup not only enables the child to develop his/her motor skills but also familiarize themselves to a range of material resources. The use of technology adds an element of play to the entire setup, enhancing a child’s engagement and creativity. This project is suitable for children between 6-12 which is a growing age which makes the physical development of the child of crucial importance which often gets sacrificed if there is high dependence on phones and laptops for learning which require very little physical movement.
Read full case study on: Behance