Plushie and Micro:bit Experiments

Over the past few months we’ve been interested in pushing the boundaries of working with Micro:bit and other digital tinkering projects. We’re inspired by the work of WICO collaborator Tiffany Tseng, who recently has created a new platform to incorporate gesture recognition and machine learning into playful computational projects.

Last September, I had the chance to participate in a really fun online workshop using the Micro:bit to make stuffed animals learn how to respond to unique gestures. It uses a really cool and different interface to connect with the microcontroller over bluetooth and play recorded sounds.

For my project in the workshop, I didn’t actually have a stuffed animal with me but I had the next best thing - a pair of socks and some giant googley eyes. So I ended up making a story about a scared sock getting packed into a luggage for a long trip.

If you want to learn more about the idea and even get the chance try it out yourself, Tiff and her team are leading a workshop for kids aged 10-13 years old. The workshop will be facilitated online by a team of education researchers from the University of Tokyo and Simon Fraser University. Here’s a link to learn more about the project and to sign up for the workshop!