From newborns to tweens, there was a plethora of kid-friendly gadgets on display at the 2015 Hong Kong Electronics Fair. Here’s our pick of the most interesting…
For ages 4-9, smart robot Albert is a Korean invention from SK Telecom which takes advantage of high levels of smartphone ownership. A smartphone can be used to control the robot or act as a screen held by Albert. It is primarily an innovative educational tool; programmed in English, Korean, Mandarin and Taiwanese (there are plans to add Spanish to the mix in the future), Albert is an ideal tool for kids learning a language. It also interacts with card games, story-telling touch boards and board games.
From Synergy Technologies Limited the OPlayer is a smart watch for kids preloaded with games, sounds and animations. It has a built-in camera for taking videos and photos and is equipped with timer and alarm clock functions.
This kids’ smart watch from Solar Tune Electronics is an 80s slap bracelet modified for 2015. The flat wristband slaps around the wrist and comes preloaded with eight games, timer and stop watch functions. It has a touch screen and colour display, and a camera is built into the side and the device.
“For naughty and sprightly kids” the Kid Tracker from Contintental Wireless lets parents virtually hold their kid’s hand. First, parents create a geo fence – a designated area for the child to play in – if they stray from this area the parent will receive an SMS. A SIM card can be inserted into the tracker so voice messages can be sent to and from parent and lost child. Kids can also press an SOS button which will send a text to their parent which will show the child’s location on a map. Alerts will also be sent if the child takes the watch off. It also apparently has an anti-mosquito function to repel mosquitos which we were unable to test…
Huija makes smart health products and its star product is the Smart Baby Mat, which monitors sleeping babies breathing. Using a low radio frequency the mat can alert parents when the baby wakes up, is breathing abnormally or isn’t moving. Parents can watch their baby’s breathing patterns on a smartphone app. Huija also makes baby monitors and products that sterilise bottles and dummies using UV light.