Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) is synonymous with creativity; and encouraging children to explore their imagination through art, is borne out of this principle. Now, TMC has just launched an exciting app that sees thousands of children across the globe giving pencil and paper a break in favour of smartphone touchscreens.
Aptly called Mobilmo, the app – for smartphones and tablets – can be downloaded so that children can create their own 3D Mobilmo contraptions to explore the imaginary planet Cosmobi. The name “Mobilmo” reflects three main elements: Move (moving things), Build (creating things) and More (making more friends).
Players can use over 100 different 3D parts to create their own “Mobilmo” with the touch of a finger and make friends as they explore the giant planet of “Cosmobi”. They can also programme it with movements – run, fly, dance – that can be stored and remembered for the next time they use the app.
When a Mobilmo has been designed and uploaded, it leaves a “footprint” on Cosmobi, making it visible to other players, who can then meet, exchange parts they have discovered on the giant planet and explore different places together. Mobilmo has many more cool features, including mini games such as Time Attack and Banana Jump, where players can boost their individual ranking.
The “9 Worlds of Wonder” lets players adapt their Mobilmo to blend in with a fantasy landscape and there are emblems to be won if one’s Mobilmo is popular with other players, or if a player does exceptionally well in the games. Interacting with other players earns experience points and there is a radar function you can use to scan for new arrivals on Cosmobi.
The app provides two modes to suit beginners and more experienced users. Mobilmo Creation Mode helps with the selection and combination of action and normal parts to build a Mobilmo; Action Parts Creation Mode is more advanced, helping players select and programme movements to create action parts so their Mobilmo can move even more freely.
Toyota is keen to encourage children to express their creativity and imagination and has hosted the annual Toyota Dream Car Art Contest since 2004, so far drawing more than 4.6 million entries from youngsters in more than 100 countries around the world, including South Africa.
Eleven-year-old Liam Joseph Sayer from Cape Town is one of the top 30 finalists, selected from 830 000 entrants worldwide, invited to the awards ceremony at Mega Web in Tokyo, Japan. His artwork, The Aqua Transporter, is an environmentally-friendly vehicle of the future that finds water from underground pockets and then transports it to the surface. Toyota South Africa is proud of Liam’s design and wishes him all the best for his upcoming trip to Japan.
