Bronze Toys, Games and Hobby Products Design · 2025
Neuro X Focus Training Toy
by Liu Qinyang and Wang Yuchen
- A' Design Award 2025 Bronze Winner in Toys, Games and Hobby Products Design
- Awarded April 15, 2025
- CLIENT: Central Academy of Fine Arts
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 44,933
- Verification code 764E72FFBC · Verify this award
About Neuro X Focus Training Toy
Neuro X is a focus training toy for children aged five and over. The kit contains four N-blocks and one headband. The headband collects brainwave signals in a non-invasive way and sends them to the blocks through a wireless connection. Each block adjusts its internal electromagnets, so ferrofluid held in a water-based solution changes shape and rhythm. Stronger focus creates more dynamic and intricate forms. Blocks can be swapped to explore different difficulty levels. All parts are made from safe materials and are securely sealed.
Wang Yuchen's Neuro X Focus Training Toy represents a thoughtful contribution to contemporary educational product design, addressing the enduring challenge of supporting sustained attention and cognitive engagement in early childhood through multisensory interaction and intuitive form language. The designer has developed a system of low-profile interactive devices that demonstrate sophisticated understanding of both pediatric ergonomics and cognitive development principles, each unit presenting a gentle dome profile that invites tactile exploration while remaining stable during active manipulation by small hands. The chromatic strategy reveals particular accomplishment, employing a carefully calibrated palette of pastel and saturated hues that balance visual stimulation with aesthetic coherence, each color potentially serving functional purposes in training protocols while creating an appealing, approachable visual identity that encourages engagement. The central interactive element, a white clover-shaped overlay housing a responsive button mechanism, provides clear visual affordance communication, its contrasting value and organic geometry naturally drawing attention and suggesting the primary interaction point without requiring verbal instruction or prior familiarity. Technical execution demonstrates facility with contemporary manufacturing processes for children's products, the smooth matte surfaces and precisely molded forms suggesting injection-molded thermoplastic construction that balances durability requirements with tactile appeal, while the integrated electronics implied by the button mechanisms indicate successful integration of functional technology within appealing sculptural housings. The compositional presentation through studio documentation establishes the products within professional commercial photography conventions while retaining warmth and accessibility through the inclusion of a young user actively engaged with the devices, this human element transforming abstract product depiction into narrative demonstration that communicates intended use, appropriate age range, and the focused attention the design aims to cultivate. The work participates in broader design conversations around pediatric product development, educational toy innovation, and the material culture of childhood learning, suggesting affinities with contemporary Scandinavian design traditions that privilege clean forms, thoughtful color application, and human-centered functionality over decorative excess or character-driven marketing approaches. The designer's evident consideration of how form, color, texture, and interaction combine to create engaging yet focused experiences for developing minds reflects sophisticated design thinking that honors children's capabilities while supporting their developmental needs. One might contemplate how such carefully crafted tools for attention training represent evolving understandings of childhood cognition and the designer's role in creating objects that serve not merely as entertainment but as instruments for growth, skill development, and the cultivation of sustained focus in an increasingly distraction-rich environment.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- Children naturally face challenges with attention control during development, but criticism can harm their confidence. Studies show that unconscious focus during play and exploration supports prefrontal cortex development. We aim to use play as a tool to aid this growth. The attention-training toy employs a commercial tgam module to capture eeg signals, using them to control ferrofluid's shapes and rhythms, enabling "thought-driven interaction." This merges physiological signals with physical materials, blending art and technology to create a unique experience that fosters sustainable attention development.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- Product Dimensions: N-blocks: Width 180 mm x Depth 180 mm x Height 60 mm, medi-headband: Width 210mm x Depth 240mm x Height 45mm Recommended Age: 5 and over Recommended number of players: 1 Kit includes: 4 N-blocks, 1 medi-headband
- Tags
- Focus Training Toy, Child-Friendly Design, Edutainment, EEG, Art and Technology
- Production Technology
- Technically, we have made this a reality. The headband includes a commercial tgam module that non-invasively collects eeg signals. The n blocks receive the collected signals via bluetooth, adjusting the internal electromagnetic strength to activate and reshape the ferrofluid immersed in a water-based solution. The ferrofluid supports diy at home and can be made using edible oil and iron powder. All toy components are made from safe materials and are securely sealed.
- Design Challenge
- The challenge lies in reducing costs, making it affordable for more families.
- Project Duration
- The project was launched in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, in April 2023 and completed in Beijing in August 2024. It won the second prize at the Beijing division of the China international university innovation competition in 2023 and was awarded the European product design award, IDA bronze, and the China design award in 2024.
- Operation Flow
- Step 1: Put on the medi-headband, place the n-blocks on a flat surface, and power on both devices. Step 2: Focus your attention while the medi-headband collects the data. Step 3: The n-blocks process the brainwave data, causing the ferrofluid moves with signal strength. Greater focus creates more dynamic and intricate shapes. Step 4: Swap out the n-blocks to explore different levels of difficulty.
- Research
- The goal of this project is to provide an entertaining and educational attention training toy for school-aged children. Through expert and user interviews, the design integrates neuroscience and educational science, taking into account brain development needs and children's emotional needs to create a child-friendly design. After conducting market and technology research, feasibility and financial analyses were carried out. The final design won two international awards and two domestic Chinese awards, receiving endorsements from experts and recognition within the industry.
- Inspiration
- Ferrofluid is an interactive and safe material that, under the control of an electromagnet matrix, can create diverse shapes and movements. It captured my younger sister's curiosity, as she perceived it as a living creature she could interact with. Therefore, I aim to create a unique narrative connection between humans and the material, enhancing this interaction to meet the emotional needs of children during their growth process.
- Image Credits
- Image #1: Creator Wang Yuchen, Neuro X, 2024.
Image #2: Creator Wang Yuchen, Neuro X, 2024.
Image #3: Creator Wang Yuchen, Neuro X, 2024.
Image #4: Creator Liu Qinyang, Neuro X, 2024.
Image #5: Creator Liu Qinyang, Neuro X, 2024. - Patents
- Patented.63/404,074.PEAR & MULBERRY, 2022. USPTO
Patented 202421501318.3. Liu Qinyang, Wang YuChen.2024. CNIPA
Copyrights belong to Liu Qinyang & Wang YuChen.2024
Colors of Neuro X Focus Training Toy
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