LEGO Kidpad

The LEGO KidPad Circus was an interactive playset and video game developed by a newly acquired company that ran from 1999 to 2000, and was discontinued in 2001. It used a special object-tracking technology which enabled children to use typical play patterns to control the on-screen game play. 
LEGO DUPLO figures and building elements, embedded with passive RF tags, could be tracked on the playset. On-screen, characters animated and games could be played in response to the presence, movement and gestures made with the play pieces. It was mainly a circus game, and characters could be paired with animals for in-game activities. There was also a nurturing mode where kids could groom their animals.
KidPad Circus was a complex project involving game design, video game development, electro-mechanical engineering, industrial design, electronics and plastics manufacturing, in the United States and Denmark. Extensive child usability testing and work with cognitive psychologists was used to develop and refine the design.
The KidPad Circus and related programs were cancelled due to LEGO's economic difficulties of 2000. LEGO's problems were eventually solved by the success of BIONICLE, but Kidpads was never relaunched.
Category:Video Games
Category:DUPLO
Category:1999
Category:2000 (year) sets