PA!GO is an innovation project by Panasonic to design and develop an educational, entertaining product for kids that encourages them to explore, play and learn. The device is powered by TensorFlow and the Coral USB Accelerator (Edge TPU) that captures, analyzes and identifies the world around you using on-device Machine Learning.

Nowadays, young children know how to unlock mobile devices before they can even tie their shoes. This project aims to explore the role of technology and entertainment early on in a child's life ensuring we’re not letting technology take over their imagination and curiosity but rather nurture it. So, Panasonic asked themselves how we could combine the latest AI and Machine Learning technology in a robust handheld IoT device that processes information locally and offline.

Known globally for manufacturing best-in-class consumer products, Panasonic explored how to integrate machine learning technology to create an innovative, intuitive experience for elementary school children by turning the ubiquitous remote-control into a robust AI powered magic remote that allows children to interact with the real world in a new way to learn about it instead of relying on screens of mobile devices.

As children learn best through play, a child simply points PA!GO to an object outdoors like a plant, animal or insect and instantly identifies what that object is with voice, explains more information about that object. PA!GO also archives objects captured for the child to share with their family at home using any TV monitor.

The vision for PA!GO aims to combine the best of Panasonic’s camera and projection hardware capabilities, including a micro projector as a ‘torch light’ attachment. This attachment will allow kids to project the images and animals they’ve captured onto walls or their bedroom ceiling.

The open and flowing ‘at home’ user interface and functionality of PA!GO encourages children to develop their own descriptions and stories of their day. Google’s Knowledge Graph and relevant YouTube content will further inform their stories allowing the entire family to learn more about the world around them.

Product design was carefully considered by exploring various shapes and sizes for children. User tests were conducted in a small group of elementary school children and their parents to observe what was easy, and intuitive for them to use. The children also had the opportunity to share what they had captured with their class and parents, validating that children love to talk about what they learned.

The final product design went through several iterations to become a light, compact remote control and inspired by a natural, organic color scheme that represented the earth (green), ocean (blue).

Panasonic debuted PA!GO at Tech Open Air Festival in Berlin July 2019, immediately followed by Google Cloud Next '19 Tokyo & Cloud Next satellite event in Osaka, Japan September 2019.

The goal is to collaborate with educational organizations around the world and to continue investing in development while releasing a limited PA!GO kit for developers in Spring 2020.