Reflecto: Toy game teaching principles of light

 Competition at IIT Mumbai - Finalists

Reflecto was a game made for kids to teach them the basic principles of light. The game was made for IIT Mumbai -Techfest Game Design Competition. It was made in a team of 2 and was one of the finalist teams of the competition.
The logic of the game is simple, it involves a laser pointer, two reflective surfaces(mirror) and light sensors which are timed up
with timer circuit. The challenge of the game is to use the double reflection to deactivate 3 light sensors within a given time duration.There are three light sensors and after deactivating the first one if the second one is not deactivated within a specific time limit then the first sensor gets activated.

Process

The game was made in two stages where initially other similar virtual games were studied. After initial conceptualization a working model of the game was made. The model was popular among the kids at the exhibition/ competion in IIT. Most of them played it with lots of concentration and seriosness. The experience of designing toys for kids was one of its kind.

Product

Reflecto: the final product was a fully functional educational toy/game that helps in learning the principles of light. It works on any electric switch. It is portable and mobile and easy to learn game. It was also built at a low cost. The process of designing scientific toys and making kids understand concepts using simple games was challenging. Also prototyping electronically and iterating the concept as per technological limitations was helpful.