If you've visited a trade show or children's museum lately, chances are you've seen an interactive, motion-sensitive exhibit projected onto a wall or floor. Lumo is the at-home version of this technology, developed by technologists Meghan Athavale and Curtis Wachs who began creating interactive environments for commercial settings. Seeing a demand for a cheaper and more user-friendly version of their product for interactive gaming at home, they're launching an Indiegogo campaign to fund the continued development of Lumo.
Lumo pairs a pico projector with movement detection to create games that are projected onto a floor and change as players move within the game. The existing game catalog of 100 titles delves into kids' favorites such as a fishing game and an alphabet learning aid, and also comes with 10 templates for kids to rejigger the game with custom art.
Though Lumo's designers previously created their own commercial system, the technology was too expensive at the time for home use. As the price of hardware and imaging technology came down, and bright, long-life projection technology improved, it allowed Athavale and Wachs to dream up how their technology might make it into the home.
Though the included game library seems strictly juvenile, developers have access to an SDK to create new games. Existing games can be used with the projector by adding a mobile controller such as the iMpulse.
With its HDMI interface, Lumo can also double as a movie projector and mounts on either the wall or ceiling. Removing the Lumo ball from its brackets at bedtime and placing on a nightstand turns it into a dream projector.
Lumo runs Android and offers 854 x 480 pixel resolution on the projection, 1.6 GHz processor and 8 GB of storage, and both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
Pets may also like Lumo, and indeed, videos on Lumo's website show obsessed kitties chasing skittish fish in a virtual aquarium, but Lumo points out that cats can see higher resolutions than humans so may not stay interested in what might be a pretty overpriced cat toy on its own.
Currently, the Lumo system is seeking funding on Indiegogo. Pledges start at the US$499 Early Bird level, with delivery anticipated in June 2016 given a successful campaign and development cycle. Stretch goals will build additional functionality into Lumo, including painting new textures onto 3D objects.
You can watch some demonstrations of the product in Lumo's Indiegogo's pitch video below.
But in the harsh environment of say Manitoba, I can see many days where staying indoors versus playing outside is not fun, but actually dangerous considering the winter wind chills.