Author Topic: Kids Interactive Play System ( KIPS ) (Read 7764 times)

Martijn · « **on:** November 03, 2009, 08:37:55 am »

I felt some itch to make something , but due to my work i cant make a huge project.

Still i feel like sharing it. After all, we all like

And i still have many items left from my older projects including a 15 inch touchscreen

Its a simple Kid Interactive Play System (KIPS). Most important rule is basic and childproof for a 1.5 and a 3 year old.

Here some basic renders

Size is from front top to bottom and left to right 49 cm x 49 cm
total dept is 10 cm !

using 1,8cm think mdf and black laminate.
Red tmolding.
The black laminate will be covered with theme of choice or colors using stickers

Pc specs :

- Zotac ION ITX A - mini ITX (atom dual core and integrated wifi and psu)
- 2 Gb Ram (2x1gb) Kingston ValueRAM
- WD Caviar Blue WD2500AAKS - 250 GB - intern - 3.5" - SATA-300 - 7200 rpm -buffer: 16 MB
- Elo 15 inch touchscreen
- a webcam i still have left over (maybe)
- Some basic speaker

Audio will be controlled on screen or remote

Silas (son of Silas) · « **Reply #1 on:** November 03, 2009, 09:54:44 am »

Very cool idea. I would be very twitchy giving very young kids anything with a web can in it tho'

Turnarcades · « **Reply #2 on:** November 03, 2009, 12:29:06 pm »

A very nice idea over those crappy, overpriced 'kid's computers' you see being pushed out these days. My advice would be:

Split your touch screen panel from the monitor display, and layer either glass or a thick sheet of plexi between them. Kids are heavy-handed, and this will save damage to the screen like bruises or the like.
Make a more stable design than something that hangs on the wall or can be placed flat and end up with a kid's full weight on it. Maybe a wedge-shape would be better so the unit has a nice flat base, then an angled screen and back.
Whatever you add, make sure the system has nice, big touch areas to make it easier to use for infants with less co-ordination than adults.

Silas (son of Silas) · « **Reply #3 on:** November 03, 2009, 12:53:18 pm »

Quote from: Turnarcades on November 03, 2009, 12:29:06 pm

..for infants with less co-ordination than adults.

And enjoy your infants being young enough not to have sufficient co-ordination to whoop your butt at Ms. Pac-man to the point where night after night you try to beat their score but never come close.
... or is that just how it is in my house?

Martijn · « **Reply #4 on:** November 03, 2009, 01:13:37 pm »

Thanks for the tips Turnarcades.

I have been looking at these ideas

http://www.ikcplay.com/lang-en/component/virtuemart/?page=shop.browse&category_id=3

the Oscar comes close to what i like.

What i came up with will be very strong to the wall. with only 10 cm depth i think it will be ok.
My children are very caring btw. I have high end audio video equipment in the living room and they don't dare to touch it, when i had the street fighter cab they where very carefull with it.

The ole screen protection is maybe a good idea, but its made for rough handling cause it was for a photobooth.

No ideas yet for the OS part

i did came up with a key turn on part, something like this

Martijn · « **Reply #5 on:** November 05, 2009, 08:48:37 am »

I have cut out the main pieces and started drawing the main lines for the screen position

kizer · « **Reply #6 on:** November 06, 2009, 05:32:35 pm »

What are you using for software? I'd love to build one of these for my boy.

Martijn · « **Reply #7 on:** November 07, 2009, 02:52:27 am »

I have good experience with meedio www.meedios.com its very touchscreen friendly and has mediacenter options for easy video and music listening.
It also can launch applications for games and drawing programs.

I am creating a skin for it with big simple navigation. Oh and you can set a pin code to options he shouldn't open.

here's a shot of the menu i am making, its a start ..

And here is the front panel cut to shape.

Sorry for the bad picture quality, my digicam is broken, i have already ordered a new one. Next pictures will be better

Franco B · « **Reply #8 on:** November 07, 2009, 04:18:00 am »

Looking good Martijn

beastathon · « **Reply #9 on:** November 07, 2009, 06:39:47 am »

I think that would be a really good idea mounting a webcam in the back of the system so they could take it around the house and take photos. I personally think that would be really cool, don't scrap that idea.

Martijn · « **Reply #10 on:** November 07, 2009, 07:27:48 am »

lol, its way to heavy to move around. It will have a perm placement on the wall

Martijn · « **Reply #11 on:** November 10, 2009, 01:10:56 pm »

Got my hardware so i can see if my calculations are right. And they are

The screen will sink 1cm more in dept and so will the speaker, then i have 7 cm left for the mainboard + cpu fan
the board is 5 cm only so thats good, the box of the mainboard says it can run without a fan. But i will use it.

And i got a new digicam

P.s. Whats wrong with this editor, screen keeps popping up and down

Martijn · « **Reply #12 on:** November 22, 2009, 08:07:51 am »

some small update, i finished cutting the screen hole

Kevin Mullins · « **Reply #13 on:** November 22, 2009, 11:55:20 am »

Nice !

I'll certainly be following this project. I've had similar ideas for quite some time now. My 3 year old has been playing with my touchscreen since she was about 1 1/2. Kids LOVE interactivity and it's cool watching them actually learn to use it and recognize buttons, icons, colors, shapes, etc and making "something" happen.
The biggest problem I have had is finding games and software that really caters to the younger kids AND be touchscreen friendly. Like you put it "basic and childproof", which needs to include the software.

A couple sites I've grabbed ideas from..... the two that really cater to younger kids wouldn't even talk to me about JUST a software packages.
Gave me the whole "technical hardware" required speil.

http://www.e-funinternational.com/
http://www.fingabox.co.uk/
http://www.point2explore.com/museum/kioskgames.asp

opt2not · « **Reply #14 on:** November 23, 2009, 03:42:19 am »

Hey martijn, love your work. You've got a really good professional vision for your projects!

I was wondering if you considered scrapping the idea of using a HDD, and instead getting yourself a high capacity Compact Flash card with an IDE interface?

I've just installed one into my cocktail cabinet, and it's pretty awesome at keeping the heat generation down! It's also super tiny in cabinet real-estate. I believe there are Sata versions as well.
You could easily get a high capacity CF card and one of these bad-boys for cheap! I mean, if you don't really need to have a full 250GB HDD installed in that machine. As well, it's good for turning on and off repeatedly, no need to worry about your drive wearing down

Martijn · « **Reply #15 on:** November 23, 2009, 06:29:06 am »

Hi, and thanks, i was considering a SSD or CF card as hdd. Whats the boot speeds of these CF cards? The hdd is really silent en pretty fast

I forgotten to add a air vent hole to the project, ill add one on the top, i think ill use some small holed grill, so they cant drop stuff into it.
or maybe to the side, then its also hard to insert something fluid.

Here i made the router guide for fitting the screen

And here its done

billpa · « **Reply #16 on:** November 24, 2009, 10:53:53 am »

Quote from: Martijn on November 07, 2009, 02:52:27 am

I have good experience with meedio www.meedios.com its very touchscreen friendly and has mediacenter options for easy video and music listening.
It also can launch applications for games and drawing programs.

I was thinking of building the same thing for my sons (same ages as your kids). I have a couple of CRT touchscreen monitors collecting dust. Obviously the cab would be a lot beefier than yours

Just curious what drawing programs you have found that are kid friendly?

opt2not · « **Reply #17 on:** November 24, 2009, 05:02:35 pm »

Quote from: Martijn on November 23, 2009, 06:29:06 am

Hi, and thanks, i was considering a SSD or CF card as hdd. Whats the boot speeds of these CF cards? The hdd is really silent en pretty fast

The boot speeds aren't too bad, obviously it's slower because of the Card's read/write limits, but it's tolerable IMO.
I believe it's fairly comparable to an old IDE 5400rpm @ around 45MB/s, depending if your card is one of the newer high speed ones.

Though I just read the wiki page on CF cards, and it seems that you can get higher speeds:

Quote

Compact Flash Wiki
* CF+ and CompactFlash Revision 4.0 (2006) added support for IDE Ultra DMA 133 for a maximum data transfer rate of 133 MB/s (UDMA 133).

That's faster than an IDE 7200rpm HDD...

blueznl · « **Reply #18 on:** March 05, 2010, 11:13:13 am »

Hey, Martijn, I was eyeing the same board for a totally different purpose... Did you finish this project?

Epyx · « **Reply #19 on:** March 05, 2010, 01:57:49 pm »

@ Martijn

Any updates? I missed the later parts of this thread when I wasn't on the boards much...I have the same router model! Great routing shots!

Martijn · « **Reply #20 on:** August 24, 2010, 03:15:17 pm »

Hi, sorry for the late responds everyone. Busy with work and life

The kips has been on hold for some time. But i got a new idea to add to it. I hope i will continue work on it.

Ill draw out the new plan asap and show it here. Also i found a nice removable protection sheet for the touchscreen. I dont know if it will still work then.

Also a new cabinet idea is wondering my head for some time now.

JustMichael · « **Reply #21 on:** August 25, 2010, 11:00:34 am »

If the kids get to move the thing around on their own I would replace the hard drive with a solid state one.

davey · « **Reply #22 on:** January 20, 2011, 05:05:46 am »

The touch screen software from Fingabox can be downloaded. You need Flash 10 for it to work

http://www.fingabox.com

Martijn · « **Reply #23 on:** January 30, 2013, 03:28:24 am »

Well i was searching for something in the storage, and found the front mdf panel of this project. Might as well finish it, dont like opening topics which i dont end.
Its gonna be a simple side project, replace the pc for a android mini pc stick or a old left over xbox1

I drilled the speaker holes by hand, turned out ok

jmike · « **Reply #24 on:** January 30, 2013, 06:57:50 am »

Yes I remember when you started this. I'm glad you're going to finish it.
My boys love the movie Cars so this might work for them.

Martijn · « **Reply #25 on:** February 19, 2013, 07:45:55 am »

Finished the woodwork mostly. Little bit more sanding and filling and then i can start painting. As this thing will be heavy it needed a lot of reinforcement.

Added control panel buttons and 2 air vents


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