Building block selected for entrepreneur final

Four engineering students from the Mads Clausen Institute in Sønderborg will be bringing the magnetic building block, called playDXTR, with them to the Creative Business Cup. The building block can also communicate with a tablet and the team behind the invention call it 'the smartest ever building block from Denmark'.

'We're breaking the barrier between screen and reality in a natural and easily understandable way,' says Kenneth Madsen, one of the four engineering students.

'When play and interaction are digitalised, through games and learning it becomes possible to cross between the real and the virtual world. When I do something on the screen it changes something in reality and vice versa,' he says.

Play and learning

For the team behind the invention it is more about enhancing the experience, the game and play than about the technology itself.

'We have spent a lot of time making sure that our building blocks are as easy as possible to play with. After only a few seconds of getting their hands on them, children understand how to use them,' says Kenneth Madsen.

When play is digitalised, data is created as a by-product which makes it possible to measure and follow a child's development.

PlayDXTR is one of 23 projects chosen for the Creative Business Cup which includes a boot camp ahead of the final on Monday 29th June.

Analogue little brother

In the coming months playDXTR begin their Kickstarter which will help the team finance the project. At the same time an analogue version of the building block called magDXTR will be launched as an alternative for parents who do not wish to measure their child's development.

'We fully understand that not all parents are comfortable with this type of optimisation of their child's development in the same way runners can optimise their performance with Endomondo,' says Kenneth Madsen.

'But it is certainly an emerging trend we can clearly see in the market,' he continues.

Creative Business Cup

The winner of the Creative Business Cup will receive 25,000DKK and a place in the world championships in the autumn. At the same time, some teams will also be selected to go on to other specialised courses.

The Creative Business Cup is organised by the Center for Cultural and Experience Economy (CKO) which is a public, independent agency established in 2008 by the Ministry of Culture in Denmark and the Danish Ministry of Business and Growth. CKO's mission is partly to promote awareness of how business can contribute to boosting growth and innovation through experience-based business development and partly to strengthen creative professionals' understanding of business through strategic partnerships with other industries.