Based on the unsurprising insight that 1.5 – 3 year olds can’t drive well, I was tasked with designing a 6V battery op that didn’t require kids to look where they were going.
Starting with an existing Radio Flyer 6V battery op, I gutted it and replaced it with Arduino and stock motor driver components programmed to perform time-based “dance moves” based on one of five buttons pressed. The prototype could also be driven like a standard 6V battery op with a “Go” button on the steering wheel.
After child testing went extremely well (one girl in particular refused to get off while incessantly laughing), I proceeded to refine and develop the powertrain, user interaction, and song selection.
Detailed specifications and trips to China helped to achieve the choreographed movements of the car to the Royalty-Free music I selected through to production.
