Kolibree Wants Devs to Make Games For Their Smart Toothbrush

[Michael Epstein]

Kolibree Wants Devs to Make Games For Their Smart Toothbrush

Question One: Would you be more motivated to brush your teeth if it were part of a game?
Question Two: Do you really any more incentive to brush your teeth?

"Quantified self" is one of the big focal points at CES this year: It seems like company has some kind wristband or device designed to help you sleep, eat or exercise well with the magic of personal data tracking. Among them is French hardware start-up Kolibree, manufacturers of the first "Smart Toothbrush."

So it's come to this.

The Kolibree toothbrush sends brushing data, which includes time of day, frequency duration and "coverage," to a smartphone via bluetooth. Using the companion app, users can look at nicely packed charts and graphs about their oral hygiene habits.

While the primary pitch of the device is focused on improving oral health - the Kolibree app gives you tips on how to improve your technique based on its data - the creator also suggests the smart toothbrush could be used to make a game out brushing your teeth. Kolibree suggests "Fun with Hygiene" as one the device's main selling points:

"The toothbrush will also be able to talk to other applications on your phone, so an enterprising developer could, for instance, create a game controlled by your toothbrush. You could score points for chasing monsters among your teeth."

Now, Kolibree isn't leaving it completely up to third-parties: the company website [http://www.kolibree.com/] says the device "gamifies" the brushing experience by doling out achievements, presumably for usage milestones. (You brush your teeth everyday! YAY!) I'm not sure exactly what kind of game(s) Kolibree has in mind, but based on what the smart toothbrush does, I'm not sure what they're talking about. A brushing game could be great get kids into the habit, but I think developers will be hard-pressed to create something one would describe as actively "fun."

If you're into the idea of smart toothbrush, whatever the reason, the Kolibree smart toothbrush will be available in the third quarter of 2014. To give you a slightly more specific timeframe, the companion app will be available on iOS and Android in July.

Source: AP via ABC News [http://www.kolibree.com/]



Permalink

 

[Dragonbums]

Most devs sans the indie scene can't even wrap their heads around using simple shit like the Gamepad on the Wii U. Like hell they are going to be able to put their brains together to make a game for a toothbrush.


EDIT: On that note, the whole toothbrush thing is a pretty quirky idea. Not too sure how far it will go though.

 

[GamemasterAnthony]

*double facepalm* Folks...you don't NEED to turn brushing teeth into a game! Kids young enough to want to do so have already figured out three ways to do so during the time it took for you to fart!

 

[Mortuorum]

Question Two: Do you really any more incentive to brush your teeth?

Question 3: Do you really verb? Copy editing, people. Also see paragraph one.

OT: No, we do not need this, although I lack the imagination to figure out how one would gamify toothbrushing beyond some kind of achievements system as the author suggests. Do we really need Facebook posts on how often some kid brushes his teeth?

 

[Falterfire]

I don't care whether games on a toothbrush is in any way a useful or sane concept, I like the idea of a trying to base a game around something that bizarre. Some of the coolest games show up when game designers attack bizarre concepts that seem totally impossible to make a game out of.

 

[kailus13]

Cue someone trying to sue 'cause they grinded their teeth down grinding achievements.

Considering how often I used to chew my toothbrush when I was a kid, this could get rapidly too expensive to consider.

 

[Shinsei-J]

You know what, I actually think this could work.
Just go with me on this magical ride, ok, ready, Rhythm games.
DONE, nailed it, you're welcome.

 

[darthzew]

Escapist, y'all might want to give the article another proofread or two.

I don't feel like this would work well. I care a lot about my teeth, and I even floss, but I really just want to get in and get done. Having to pull up my phone and such just sounds too tedious.

 

[misg]

Personally I have no use for this smart tooth brush idea. Also even if Devs did make games who would want to buy them? The only app I could see being useful is one where you can track how long and how often your kids brush. But I think even that is a really long stretch.

 

[Elvis Starburst]

You know what, I actually think this could work.
Just go with me on this magical ride, ok, ready, Rhythm games.
DONE, nailed it, you're welcome.

Brushing back and forth to the beat of a song or something, right? Just don't try anything from Dragonforce or there will be nothing left XD

 

[blackrave]

You know what, I actually think this could work.
Just go with me on this magical ride, ok, ready, Rhythm games.
DONE, nailed it, you're welcome.

Just wait until some smart condom introduces Rhythm games, heh heh...