Wonder Workshop released its newest technology called Dash and Dot. These are robots which aim to teach kids the fundamentals of coding in an interactive and fun way.
According to Vikas Gupta, the founder of Wonder, and the former head of consumer payments at Google, there are no enough toys to spark the curiosity and interest of children to explore the world of coding. So he built a robot that would enable children to play and learn at the same time.
"The industry builds very industrial robots," Gupta said. "They're very aggressive."
In order to achieve his goal, he created toylike robots with close resemblance to cartoons, enticing children to play along and enjoy the experience.
Dash and Dot can be controlled with using mobile devices or on their own. Various games were uploaded in the system. Even without an external control, children can still enjoy games such as Simon Says-style memory game, and Magic-8-Ball fortune telling game. The two robots are also designed to interact with each other.
Wonder developed applications which can easily be downloaded on a mobile device. These applications show children on how Dash and Dot were created through play. A challenge-based game is also included in the app to give kids a glimpse of programming systems.
"Each level has visual cues on how to program it," Gupta said. Hundreds of levels are now available in the app with more to come. Kids can make Dash and Dot do or say something through the app.
The two little robots are intended for kids to play and learn from. However, the actual codes of the program are not yet available for them. Gutpa wanted the young generation to learn and appreciate the digital age even in their early years.
A lot of additional add-ons had also been made available to maximize play. One of which is a connector that would let kids play and create Lego structures on top of Dash.
Dash and Dot are also developed to grow with kids. The initial cost for Dash alone is at $150 while the pair (including Dot) is at $200. "If a parent is going to spend $150 on this, I'd love it to last for years," Gupta said.