FUNgi: An Interactive Toy Designed for Young Children Based on e-Textile Material

Electronic toys are almost necessary in young child’s childhood as a companion. However, more and more electronic toys in the market can provide a richer sensory experience for children but still not soft and skin-friendly enough, and allow limited ways for children to interact with them. Eletronic textile, as a new type of intelligent material, has both characteristics of traditional fabric and the ability of communication. In this research, we want to create a soft toy with eletronic textiles. We focus on the textile characteristic of e-textiles, and utilize different colors and textures of them to guide children play naturally with their full body and obtain organic and synesthetic feedback. The research provides an alternative solution to improve the common hard shell electronic toys for young children, and extend the interactive modes of e-textiles.