Augmented Reality (AR) Toys Computing Management
A toy is a product that is intended for use by a child in learning or play. The toy industry is comprised of establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing dolls, toys and games. Referring to the Toy Industry Association in the United States, the sales volume of toys worldwide was $78.1B in 2007, growing by 7% over five years to reach $84.1B in 2012. The worlds leading toy manufacturers include Hasbro, Mattel, JAKKS Pacific, LEGO and Namco Bandai, and their combined revenue amounted to approximately $20B in 2011. In 2010, an average of $317 and $284 was spent on toys per child in the United States and Canada, respectively. The top ten worldwide markets by toy retail sales are the United States, Japan, China, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Brazil, India, Australia, and Canada. The growing market demand for toys offers a unique opportunity for Canadian universities to train highly qualified personnel in support of the Canadian toy industry in entering overseas markets and enhancing their competitive advantages. Based on the reporting from the 110th Annual American International Toy Fair, toy manufacturers are increasingly incorporating Augmented Reality (AR) technologies into their products. AR is an enhanced version of reality created by the use of technology to overlay digital information on an image of something being viewed through a device. With respect to toys, this allows the user to enhance the physical world as they play. For example, Disney Dream Play is an interactive music toy that employs AR technologies providing the user with an enhanced experience as they interact with various Disney characters. With the growing numbers of mobile technology users worldwide, toy companies are employing AR technologies to tap into these new markets. However, there are many computing challenges with respect to AR toys that are yet to be overcome before the AR toy market becomes more prevalent in Canada. More specifically, the Canadian toy companies are confronted with the challenge of better understanding the AR consumer needs and building business models that will successfully market the AR toys. Toy makers usually take 18 to 24 months to develop a product thereby implying that the development process of AR toys may be much more costly, lengthy, and difficult due to the technological challenges. Another exacerbating issue is that a computing management model with technological standards for AR toys has not yet been established within the toy industry worldwide. The AR toy life cycle includes imagination, design, knowledge modelling, computing management, engineering management and marketing knowledge modelling. This proposed project focuses on the research and development of computing management model based on a real AR toy called TekRecon which is cooperated with a Canadian toy company called Tech 4 Kids Inc. in Ontario.
