Who is Bino the Panda?

Technology has evolved so rapidly since the introduction of the mobile phone and PC that these devices and the related software are barely recognizable from those of our childhood. Now it’s rare to find a home, or office, without at least one smartphone, and tablet or laptop. Changes in technology have fundamentally altered the way we work, play, and learn. Nowadays, schools are equipped with interactive whiteboards, computers and personal tablets. Given the relatively short existence of these new tools and toys, and our lack of experience as parents, we found ourselves confronted with the question of what is the right way to introduce these technologies into the lives of our young children?

Like many parents we concluded that the introduction of new technology to young children should be of high quality, accompanied, playful, and educational. Enter Bino, a lovable, virtual panda, available to pop up from the mat when the family is ready to play and learn!  When you want to activate the AR function to, say, go through the alphabet, potty training, orbrushing teeth with your child, you simply download our app and point it at the part of the mat you want to play/learn with. The app also allows you to choose between English or German language options. New technologies are introduced in a way which support and encourage parent-child play, interaction, and learning. Lastly, the play mat grows with the child; we’ve seen children between three and ten years old enjoy learning with Bino! 

Over the course of several years, Matthias developed Bino the panda and the AR app in his spare time, before eventually introducing them to Tobias and Axel. The dream team was thus assembled, and together we have produced the first prototype of the Mabino play mat featuring Bino the Panda and thoroughly tested its functionalitie