Spring 2016 - Week 9

During Spring Break, we tested various portions of the toy to ensure durability and consistency with the toy. In order to better understand the usability of the toy, we brought parts of the prototype to a church's Children's ministry and allowed for some children to play with some of the modules. By doing so, we are able to see how parts of the toy last in a real world scenario.

There are a few things that would be best to change, such as ensuring that epoxy is not found on the outside of the toy.

 Figure 1. This is a situation we wish to avoid. While it is not easily separable from the plastic, material like this should not be exposed to children using the toy

  Figure 2. There were some durability testing issues with the toy. Before any assembly, the module insert slots are very fragile and can break if enough force is put onto it. Epoxy was used to fix the insert slots.

Figure 3. Waterproofing is also an issue, while there are some modules that can be used without worry of electrical components, there are little slots like shown above that can be dangerous since it provides a route that can expose any electrical components to liquids.

In order to better complete testing, it would be better to have kids who use a Kid Cart to play with the toy. Furthermore, better information would be accessible if we were able to test the toy with the whole prototype assembled.