Pixelsumo is a blog about interaction, with an emphasis on play, installation, video game culture, playgrounds and toys. Written by Chris O'Shea.
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TwitterBlue Man Group’s musical toys
Posted June 20th 2006 under AudioVisual, Toys
Last week the excellent Music Thing posted details about a new range of toys, licensed by the Blue Man Group and developed by ToyQuest.
Aimed at 8-14 year olds, these toys will kind of emulate the instruments used by the Blue Man Group in their stage show. The Percussion Tubes (shown top) will use distance range sensors to give dynamic control over sound, priced at US$69.99, whilst the keyboard (bottom) will cost US$79.99, both to be released later this year.
In 2007 two more toys will be released. The ‘Drum Suit’ (US$39.99) consists of a pair of motion-activated gloves and five sensors that strap on to the user’s body. The Drum Suit emits sound when a hand gets waved over the sensors. the ‘Air Pole’ (US$19.99) makes different sounds when it’s swung around like a baton.
The toys have a placeholder for your iPod, so you can jam along whilst listening to your playlist. Each instrument will also come with a Blue Man Group DVD for children to watch and emulate.
Having a keen interest in physical musical toys, this is something that really interests me. Whilst “new proximity sensor technology” isn’t really new, as they are used in academia and the ‘new interfaces for musical expression’ world all of the time, it is great to see these kinds of interfaces being released in the mainstream. It’s also worth considering that the Blue Man Group are very visual, with paint splatters on drum beats and light coming out of the tubes, so it would have been more exciting to add a visual element to the toys.
Sources: Music Thing and on Gizmodo, Engadget, Future Music, Kidscreen.
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