• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, May 3, 2016

In partnership with the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation -- the organization set up by Christopher Reeve (Superman) and his wife Dana after his accident which left him paralyzed -- agency 360i and tech company Axios have launched an effort called Adaptoys which aims to make toys which paralyzed children can play with.

One such toy, the R/C Car, is controlled by blowing into a straw to make the car go forward and sucking back through the same straw to make the car go backwards. The toy car is steered by the tilt of the head. Another toy is a pitching machine that launches balls by voice command.

Of the motivation behind launching the effort, 360i Creative Director Corel Theuma told the Times of Malta, “My creative partner and I noticed that while technology has helped improve the lives of so many people living with paralysis, play was unfortunately forgotten."

Working with tech firm Axios, Adaptoys has built several prototypes and aims to raise funds through a crowdsourcing effort on Generosity.com. The goal is $155,000 and $1,700 has been raised to date.

Unlike most crowdfunded (or any for that matter) endeavor, Adaptoys isn't looking to sell the toys. They are looking to give them away. Of this move, Theuma adds, “The plan is to give away 100 Adaptoy R/C cars with the money raised. The more money we get, the more toys we can produce and give away for free.” 

Working through the Reeve foundation, Adaptoys aims to identify those who could benefit from the company's developments.