On our visit to this year’s Gadget Show Live, we discovered a number products we really like, however the one that took Geektown’s top spot was a wonderfully inventive toy called Milo.
Milo is an interactive way for young children to stay in touch with absent loved ones, whether that’s a parent in the military on deployment, or a grandparent who lives far away. Milo is designed to allow interactive play between the child and the loved one in a fun and inventive way.
Milo is a lion with an video screen for a face that fits onto a base station with 24 slots for ‘tokens’. These tokens can be hidden around the family home or in the child’s bedroom, and can represent 24 weeks, 24 days or whatever you choose, acting as a countdown for when the child’s absent loved one will return or visit. A clue appears on screen at a designated time that gives the child an indication of where the token might be. The child can then go on a treasure hunt in order to find the missing token. Once found they return to Milo’s base station and slot the token in. This then triggers a video message from the absent loved one to be played. Once finished the child can use Milo to record and send their own video message back. The adult then views this message (and all messages received) on the Milo website.
What we loved about Milo was the way it tackled an interesting problem with a unique solution. Family separation can be extremely hard on families, especially the child, even if it’s only for a few days. Milo is a lovely way of allowing the loved one and the child to stay in contact, even when the person that’s away may not have constant internet access.
Milo is still in development at the moment, so Hannah Sage, his creator, has entered the Virgin Media Business VOOM which offers funding, business advice and a chance to pitch to Richard Branson for the winner. The competition is voted for by the public, which means Milo needs your help!
All you have to do is CLICK THIS LINK to visit the VOOM website and vote. It’ll take you less than a minute, and help Hannah make Milo a reality for lots of families out there, so why not lend a hand, and help Milo out! :)
