Collect Colors from the World!

Overview

In response to the assignment, “Develop an educational toy that has never existed before,” our team created Iro-Tori-Dori, an innovative painting set that allows children to collect colors from real-world objects.

The project was developed during a project-based learning course in my fourth year at a Japanese college of technology. Each year, students work in teams to propose and develop a product based on a different theme.

The name Iro-Tori-Dori combines two Japanese expressions: iro o toru, meaning “to collect colors,” and irotoridori, meaning “colorful” or “full of many colors.”

Objectives

• Develop a new type of educational toy.

• Experience the entire product development process, from concept development to the final product presentation, based on the scenario of launching a startup company.

Development Process

Concept Development

We began by brainstorming ideas based on the year's theme:

“Develop an educational toy that has never existed before.”

Through this process, we established the product concept:

“The whole world is your palette!”

The idea was that everything in the world could become a source of paint. Children could collect their favorite colors from objects around them and use those colors in their artwork.

Target Users and Educational Goals

Based on the direction established during the brainstorming process, we selected children aged three and older as the target users.

The educational goals of the product were defined as follows:

• Develop a sense of color and creative expression.

• Improve communication skills through group play.

• Encourage children to act independently and explore their surroundings.

Concept Review

During the concept review, we presented the product proposal to faculty members in our department.

In addition to the overall product concept, we shared detailed specifications for the mechanical design, electronics, and software.

We initially considered adding a quiz feature in which children would combine the colors of multiple blocks. However, we concluded that implementing the feature would be too technically challenging within the available development period, so it was removed from the final design.

Research and Technical Development

We conducted research and developed the technologies required to bring the product to market.

This included:

• Selecting materials that could reproduce the appearance and texture of a painter's palette

• Experimenting with a color sensor to capture the colors of real-world objects

• Developing an algorithm to convert captured RGB color data—the additive primary colors of light—into CMYB data that could be reproduced using paint

Implementation

We manufactured one palette unit and three color-sampling blocks.

The team was divided into mechanical, electronics, and software groups. As each component was completed, we integrated the systems and conducted operational testing.

I was responsible for designing and assembling the electronic circuits inside the blocks.

Each block contained the following components:

1. Full-color LED

2. Infrared LED

3. Infrared receiver

4. Switch

5. ATmega328P microcontroller

6. Color sensor

7. Battery

8. DC jack for an external power supply

Final Presentation

After seven months of development, we presented the completed product through a presentation and live demonstration.

The event gave both faculty members and students in our department an opportunity to learn about the product and its underlying concept.

During the latter half of the course, we also used J-PlatPat, Japan's patent information platform, to investigate whether products similar to those developed by each team had already been patented.

Key Learnings

• The fundamental process of product development

• Brainstorming techniques for generating a wide range of ideas

• The complexity of battery selection and power management

• The difficulty of obtaining stable and accurate color measurements using a color sensor

Gallery