Version 3 was a big improvement, but we needed some cost engineering on the hardware design, and further improvement needed to make the design actually able to be mass produced. We started sourcing our manufacturing partner and working closely with them to redesign the board and our hardware system.

We further optimized the board (smaller, more efficient) and switched our wire-type capacitive sensors to our special foam sensors to improve stability. The wire sensors were not stable, we got a lot of false positives and the sensitivity degraded over time. On the ME side, we added a couple fixture trails so the plush factory could fix our electronics more easily to the plush.

We also performed around a hundred user tests using our Version 3 sample. Through the user testing, we learned about the ways kids trigger and interact with the plush. With this information, we fine tuned the sensor sensitivity level, digital game play, and, on the plush side, added zippers to secure the tablet pocket on the product and visual cues for the area that has sensors.