Toyota Camatte Capsule Trailer to introduce kids to cars; interior now customisable as virtual space

Created “out of a desire to convey the joy and dreams of motor vehicles to the next generation”, the Toyota Camatte Capsule trailer has been a regular fixture at the Tokyo Toy Show since 2012. Its aim is to facilitate parent-child interaction with cars together, at the same time to encourage children to become more familiar with cars.

Prior to this, the Camatte exhibit placed emphasis on the vehicle exterior, namely to interchange its exterior panels to one’s tastes. Measuring 3,785 mm long, 1,500 mm wide and 1,845 mm tall, this year’s edition shifts focus towards the interior, where within the trailer are a screen on each interior wall.

Using a tablet device and an exhibit-specific application, a child can select items and patterns to be projected onto each screen to simulate the space he or she has built; one out of six patterns can be selected at any one time, and the child can also choose and place a maximum of eight out of 24 available everyday items (such as furniture, appliances or musical instruments) in that virtual space.

The aim is that when the selections are displayed, it will drive conversation between parents and children on the ideas they have projected in the virtual space. Earlier editions of Toyota’s Camatte exhibits included the Camatte Sora which could be driven by children and have its exterior panels easily interchanged; the Camatte 57s of 2013, as suggested, had 57 small detachable panels that could be assembled like a puzzle.

Last year, the Camatte Hajime and Camatte Vision employed augmented reality to enable children to simulate driving through town in a car of their own specification.

Children’s play spaces have come a long way; what was your first encounter with cars?

GALLERY: Toyota Camatte 57s

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