Being teenagers in an all boy preparatory school, it is apparent that candy plays a major role in the dietary habits of many students. In addition our school has a robotics program which has quickly gained prominence on the global level. Combining these two growing markets we felt the team could further enhance the world of soft robotics. While sugary candy might not be the best thing for you, this new market that we are hoping to create can enhance not just the advanced side of soft robotics but also the fundamental side. On the advanced side we can create soft robots that are edible and perform all the functions that its silicon counterpart can. On the fundamental side we are able to create a simple interactive kids toys out of melted gummy bears or FORDmula which will hopefully peak young children's interests in science.
We wanted to see how the product could be potentially viewed by people outside of Soft Robotics. We asked a group of our peers and teachers a series of questions:
1. Do you think this is cool?
2. Would you buy candy that moves?
3. Would you buy your child(ren) edible robots?
All of the students said that they would consider buying this product or a similar product for their future kids. When asked about their opinion on the robots was unsettlement at first because it felt wrong, being able to play with food or eat something that is moving. However, as they started to learn more about these soft robots they became increasingly intrigued and excited about these soft robots.
Along with the high school students we showed our soft robots to teachers and their school aged sons. We had a focus group with boys who were in kindergarten, first grade, and third grade. The teachers thought this project was, "totally awesome" which was much different than the initial reaction of the high school students. The younger boys had a blast with the gummy actuators and enjoyed learning how they work, playing with them, and, maybe most of all, eating them. The way their faces lit up when we brought moving gummy bears is proof that this is a product which will be loved by both parents and young children. We believe that the target audience is both young children, ages 3-10, and their parents. We believe that if we were to commercialize gummy actuators it would be as a fun toy that parents can use with their children as well as sparking an interest in STEM, particularly science and engineering. With our instructions laid on this website, it would also be easy for families at home to create these actuators in their kitchens using household equipment and groceries store supplies.
| Figures 50-53: Highlights of our focus group with the young boys. | |
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The first two pictures show the boys learning about soft robotics and what these gummy actuators are. The second two pictures depict the boys playing with the actuators and eating them.
The joy on the boys' faces as they ate the gummy actuators is proof that they enjoyed playing with and eating the actuators.