Cody Block: the educational robot against “junk toys”

Robotics for children is becoming increasingly popular. Robots offer the ideal opportunity to gain a first programming experience in a playful way. However, the question is whether the large number of robots on offer, with their wide variety of skills and functions, are also educationally valuable and actually enable children to learn in a meaningful way that is also fun.

This is also known at the Vienna education server, where the media education experts regularly put new play and learning robots to work. A fascinating new robot from Switzerland has recently been discovered: the Cody Block. What is striking about the new toys is the combination of traditional wooden toys and digital techniques.

Learning through play
Using the car-shaped robot and wooden blocks, children are introduced to the basics of programming such as debugging, queuing and recursion. How did you get the idea to design the robot in the shape of a car? The idea of ​​building the robot in the shape of a car did not come to mind at first, “but we definitely wanted to make a moving object. We then discussed a lot: What should this object look like? Should it be a robot or should it look more like an animal? Then the idea came for a wagon, a car. And we decided that as a team,” explains Swiss entrepreneur Hayri C. Bulman to the Vienna education server.

Fun while learning and sustainability central
According to the company description, Cody Block stimulates children’s imagination, develops their creativity and promotes their ability to tell stories. Playing with the robot game system also promotes the children’s inventiveness, problem-solving skills and teamwork – and therefore their communication skills. The media pedagogues of the Viennese education server were also able to get a first impression of this.

Another positive to note: Unlike the majority of toys produced worldwide, the Swiss robot toy system is, according to its own statements, made up of less than 3 percent plastic, including the packaging. The wood is also made from responsibly sourced wood. The global toy industry, one of the most plastic-consuming industries in the world, uses 40 tons of plastic for every $1 million in sales. About 90 percent of all toys – and toy packaging – are made of plastic.

“You don’t need a screen, no internet, nothing”
“There is a new generation now that environmental awareness is very high. We feed our children very carefully today. We’re not feeding them junk food today. Why should we put junk toys in their hands?” asks Bulman. Therefore, sustainability was very important in the development of Cody Block. “In English we call this kind of game/toy ‘legacy’: you can throw this in the basement today and take it out in ten years and it will still work. You don’t need a screen, no internet, nothing. You just need to be able to charge it, that’s all.”

The robot is currently still being produced in China, but the founder of the company promises that there will be a fight to “bring production to Europe”. The wooden toys can also be produced here in Europe, but the electronics (Cody Block is controlled via RFID tags, please note) and their processing into wood are currently not available, the Swiss emphasized when asked by the Viennese education server. “You should find a partner who can get everything done. These companies do not currently exist in Europe – that is lost. We’re also willing to pay more money for it because we’re currently incurring those transportation costs,” Bulman notes.

Montessori adopted as a pedagogical concept
The development of Cody Block was scientifically guided from the start, and pedagogical concepts greatly influenced the final product. “Montessori as a pedagogical concept was included in our considerations, at least for the development of Cody Block (QUBS AG is already planning a whole series of other learning robots, please note)”, explains the Swiss. That is why, for example, it was decided not to add sounds, light or extra effects to Cody Block.

When it comes to digitization, very little happens to young children
When it comes to the theme of digitization, which is also important in this country, Bulman sees a similar situation in Switzerland as in Austria: very little is happening for young children. “The expectation here is often: they will notice that at home. But then we only get pure users, but no developers. We should also have more developers, IT developers, software developers, etc.,” emphasizes the founder of QUBS AG, who concludes: “There are enough users elsewhere, but the developers are crucial :Inside.”