Tamagotchi-style wristband encourages active play for kids

Leap Band is a digital pet that responds to children's activity, tracks their performance and teaches them about healthy eating.

Any parent will know how difficult it is to get kids to go out and exercise instead of playing on computer games all day. We’ve already seen gamified exercise in the form of the Loop audio and motion sensor-driven gaming platform, and now Leap Band is a digital pet that responds to children’s activity, tracks their performance and teaches them about healthy eating.

Designed for kids ages between four and seven, the wristband features a display showing a creature that children can pick from an array of characters. In order to make their virtual pet happy, kids need to complete active challenges such as ‘wriggle like a worm’ or ‘hop like a kangaroo’, with their actions detected through the device’s built-in accelerometer. The more they exercise, the more points they win to unlock new challenges. When they’ve reached their exercise quota for the day, they can interact with their pet, bathing and feeding them while also learning about nutrition in the process. Parents can also set school and quiet times to ensure their kids don’t spend too much time playing. The video below acts as an advert for the wristband:

Leap Band will be available from August at a price point of USD 39. Are there other ways wearable tech can be used to encourage children to keep fit?