Do androids dream of electric…sloths?
Does your child have trouble falling asleep? Instead of reaching for another storybook, why not give him something that will get him to sleep without cutting in to your rest as well? Snoozy the Sloth, a plush toy with a working respiratory system, may just be the answer to the dreams of tired parents everywhere.
Justin Blinder, a student at Parsons The New School for Design, created the Snoozy as part of a toy-making class. What makes this toy unique is that it actually breathes with you when you cuddle it. Blinder explains on his school webpage that "the main concept behind Snoozy is to create an intimate, yet passive, toy interaction that relaxes and comforts a user, through the tactile experience of steady breathing patterns." Theoretically, the lifelike and calm behavior of the Snoozy will allow children to connect with the toy and will ease them into a comforting sleep.
The battery-powered Snoozy has a relatively simple construction consisting of little more than two DC motor diaphragm pumps, an arduino, a solenoid valve, and a latex glove for the makeshift lung. The pumps, located in the legs of the toy, push air into the latex glove until it is fully contracted. The motor then shuts off, and the air is released through the solenoid valve located in the head. This arrangement produces a breathing simulation that one gadget blog describes as being somewhere between cuddly and creepy.
In a demonstrational video, two classmates seem to be really enjoying the realistic effects of the Snoozy, but what about children? Will kids accept this mechanical love? With all the success of previous lifelike toys, the giggling Elmo for one, it seems only natural that such an invention will be a hit with children. The pumps on the prototype seemed a bit noisy at first, but Blinder is confident that with some adjustments Snoozy will have kids snoozing along in no time. Snoozy may just be a class project, but I wouldn’t be surprised if this sleeping sloth becomes a hit with children and parents down the road.
Ranessa commented:
I feel so much happier now I undersnatd all this. Thanks!
Lucinda commented:
It's wnodreful to have you on our side, haha!
Mike P. commented:
Mike P. commented:
Dave M commented:
Dave M commented:
george .N commented:
george .N commented:
Jack .M commented:
Jack .M commented:
Joann commented:
Joann commented:
