Yesterday was the launch of the new kids playspace & gardens at the Royal London Hospital.  I was commissioned to make the installation Woodland Wiggle by Vital Arts, working with Nexus Interactive Arts.

Watch the video & read more here: chrisoshea.org/woodland-wiggle

BBC London also came to visit during the press preview, watch their video here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-21451863

I’m very happy to announce the release of my latest app Little Digits.

Little Digits is a fun educational app that teaches children about numbers by putting a new spin on finger counting.

Using the iPad multi-touch screen, Little Digits displays number characters by detecting how many fingers you put down. Children can learn to associate the number on the screen with the number of fingers they place down, whilst enjoying the unique characters and animations of the Little Digits world.

There are also games that introduce small addition and subtraction calculations, where you can work out the answer using the same multi-touch finger detection.

This is an app that will grow with your child’s numerical understanding. Not only can they discover numbers through initial independent play, you can also play collaboratively with your child, each putting fingers down to count and work out calculations together. Then when your child is ready, they can work out the answers for themselves, using their own little digits!

Watch the video & get the app here:
cowlyowl.com/little-digits

I’d like to introduce you to my new startup company Cowly Owl. The website is coming soon, but you can follow us there already. More news and apps to follow shortly.

http://www.cowlyowl.com

I’m very happy to announce the launch of my first digital toy, Makego.

Makego turns your iPhone / iPod Touch into a toy vehicle. It encourages fun, open ended collaborative play between parent and child. Combining creativity and imagination with the virtual world on screen. Select your vehicle within Makego, then interact with the drivers and their world through animations and sound. This release has 3 vehicles to play with: a race car, ice-cream truck, and river boat. More vehicle are coming later.

Watch the video here: www.cowlyowl.com/makego

Back in March I did a presentation at This happened Utrecht about my project Hand from Above.

You can now watch it here.

After my talk quite a few people asked me again for names of things I’d shown or links, so here you go…

Introduction

Little Magic Stories

Sesame Street: Song: There’s An App For That

Digital Natives

My Tech Kids , digitalmomblog.com

Fisher Price

Crib arcade, Photo by Unten44

A Magazine Is an iPad That Does Not Work

GeekDad’s daughter reimagines interactive TV

Telegraph / BBC News

“The Real Toy Story” Michael Wolf

(yuck)

What happened to making it yourself?

The Adventures of a Cardboard Box

Rolobox

Makedo

Kiwi Crate

Appcessory

PhoneBook, MOBILE ART LAB

appBlaster

Hasbro my3D

Birdbox Alarm Clock

Fingerist

Woogie

appRacer

Pinball Magic

Jackpot Slots

Screens & Cameras

Barbie Video Girl

Hot Wheels Video Racer

Sifteo

levelHead, Julian Oliver

Z-agon (concept)

monolith: iPhone 4 Case + Pocket Projector +Battery Rolled Into One

Moject

MotionBeam, Disney Research

SideBySide, Disney Research

TV

Kinect for Kids: Playful Learning

Physical & Digital

Disney AppMATes: The New Mobile Application Toys for iPad

Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure

LEGO® Life of George

Suwappu

Printing Toys

Origo (concept) desktop printer

iModela, desktop milling machine

Spore creature creator

Makielab

The Greatest Toy Ever?

Hand from Above was selected to appear in the new show Talk to Me at MoMA (showing as a video).

“Talk to Me explores the communication between people and things. All objects contain information that goes well beyond their immediate use or appearance. In some cases, objects like cell phones and computers exist to provide us with access to complex systems and networks, behaving as gateways and interpreters. Whether openly and actively, or in subtle, subliminal ways, things talk to us, and designers help us develop and improvise the dialogue.

The exhibition focuses on objects that involve a direct interaction, such as interfaces, information systems, visualization design, and communication devices, and on projects that establish an emotional, sensual, or intellectual connection with their users. Examples range from a few iconic products of the late 1960s to several projects currently in development—including computer and machine interfaces, websites, video games, devices and tools, furniture and physical products, and extending to installations and whole environments.”

The exhibition runs until Nov 2011 and is well worth a visit.

Sadly I couldn’t make it out to the show due to timing, so if anyone happens to take a photo of Hand from Above at Talk to Me, please do email it in.

Last week saw the opening of the Tweeakt festival in Utrecht, “Holland’s national theatre festival for youth”. I was invited by Kars Alfrink, the curator of the games section of the festival, to show Hand from Above.

The piece was installed on a temporary screen, view some photos here.

For this screening, I added a magnifying glass in. This was some opening night music, with the Hand running in the background…

And some people playing around…

This weekend saw the launch of my latest project called Body Swap.

Commissioned by Barbican Creative Learning for the Barbican Weekender Festival 2011, a big thank you to the whole team.

I am very happy to show my latest work Little Magic Stories, bringing the imagination of children to life through storytelling, performance and technology. More to come from this project soon.

There are some making of photos on Flickr too.