Often when pitching a company an idea for a new product, itโs not what you have, itโs what they think you have. That was the case when I presented this โgame-in-a-hatโ toy idea. My idea: a preschooler-sized hat that uses a motion sensor and sound circuit to play a simple musical game. As the hat plays a song, the kid dances along (and the motion sensor monitors the childโs actions). When the music stops, the dancer must freeze. If he moves โ RAZZZZZ! โ heโs called out. Simple and fun!
But how to make a compelling presentation without having to build a working prototype? Instead, I made a hat with a speaker and pushbutton switch, both wired to an iPod through a wired control (such as the Apple earbuds with remote: makezine.com/go/earbuds). My switch was twinned to the circuit board traces for the โnext trackโ button on the remote, and the speaker was connected to the audio out. Every time I pressed the button on the hat, the iPod would skip ahead to the next audio track!
I also recorded multiple audio tracks (including some silent โspacerโ tracks) and made a cleverly sequenced playlist that simulated how the real toy would play the games. The voices and music played through the hatโs speaker while Iโd surreptitiously pressed the button to trigger the next audio track as needed to demonstrate the game. As long as I didnโt deviate from my canned routine, the musical hat demoed exactly like the real thing. I wore the hat and danced or froze through my demo. The toy company loved it!
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