Augmented reality bear

Parker: Your Augmented Reality Bear

Most tech-enhanced plush toys become the bane of parents’ existences: they come alive with lights and sound at inopportune times, require batteries, can be heavy and clunky, and may not wash very easily. And in the case of certain connected toys, you might even worry about your child’s personal data being recorded and stored.

Given all of that, you might bristle when you first hear of Parker: Your Augmented Reality Bear, Seedling’s new iPad and iPhone-enhanced toy. But this charming bear is fully squeezable with no caveats: it doesn’t have any wires or batteries inside, and it won’t make a peep or start to glow if you accidentally step on it while your kid is asleep. 

Instead, all the digital lifting happens on your iOS device, letting you interact with the soft toy as if you were treating its wounds or feeding it a snack, or even getting it ready for bed. That kind of approach has its clear benefits, but also limitations—yet it’s pretty pleasing all the same.

With most connected toys, my four-year-old son and I will play with them for a stretch, and then I’ll collect all the pieces and make sure they’re stored out of his reach. The Sphero Star Wars R2-D2 droid and Anki Overdrive cars, for example, seem fairly durable when you’re using them as intended—but they’re not meant to take ongoing abuse from a rambunctious child. One steep drop down the stairs and those pricey tech toys are likely to be toast.

Not so with Parker: this bear has already been down the stairs with nary a nick or scratch. My son’s eyes lit up when the bear was first unboxed: he asked if Parker could sleep with him at night and join his family of stuffed bears. Of course. Why not? Parker’s just as soft and fuzzy as the rest of his plush “guys,” as he calls them. Now Parker has a bed to sleep in, and a boy of his very own. And I can toss the bear in the washing machine when he inevitably gets gross.

Parker comes with all sorts of stuff (but not an iPhone).

But looks are deceiving here, as Parker isn’t just another stuffed toy. He’s a bear designed to live in the digitally-augmented world of your making via the iPad/iPhone companion app. 

And as you’ll quickly find out, via both a rhyming poem on an included card and the short intro cartoon in the app, Parker’s been on a long journey and he’s feeling a bit under the weather. Of course, the included wooden stethoscope, thermometer, medicine bottle, and spoon might have given his ailments away, but in any case, you’ll have a chance to make things right within the app.

Playing doctor with Parker spans a variety of quick-hit activities within the app, some of which include actual augmented reality elements via your device’s back camera, while others require only simpler actions within the app itself. All the while, you’ll aim to make Parker feel better by tending to his wounds, giving him healthy snacks, and checking on his insides to ensure that everything is working right.

It’s pretend play with an assist from your iPad, but it’s cute all the same.

Augmented reality comes into play in a couple of different ways. You can place plants and animals into the 3D space around you via an ARKit-powered activity, letting you create a snazzy environment for Parker within the digital version of your living room or bedroom. And if Parker is happy and well cared-for in the app, then it’ll make the AR world a bit sunnier in the process. In other moments, you’ll put a felt skeleton overlay on top of the bear and look at it with your iPad or iPhone camera. Onscreen, you’ll see the bones come to life, sometimes with little smiley faces, or you’ll watch the digital food that you just fed Parker slide down into his tummy. 

My son loved decorating an AR world around him. Unfortunately, this part didn’t load right on my older, original iPad Air.

The non-AR activities, on the other hand, might have you “check his temperature” by putting the soft stylus-like end of the wooden thermometer into Parker’s mouth before pressing it on your touchscreen, sliding food to Parker, or applying an ice pack or bandage as needed. You can also color and design your own in-app bandages, and create drawings for Parker.

While the AR world and drawing activities can keep kids occupied for potentially extended stretches, some of the activities last for mere seconds—and then they cycle and repeat, or you can access them in any order you choose. Soon after my son and I started playing with the app, I felt like we had pretty much seen it all. After another hour or so of cumulative play, that was pretty much still true: a couple of unseen mini-games had popped up with further play, but by and large, he was still going through the same routine of simple activities.

I was a bit bored of the activities at that point, but I fall well outside the recommended age range (3 to 6). My four-year-old, on the other hand, was still enthralled by placing dozens of plants and items around the AR world, feeding Parker snacks, and hearing the bear’s joyous yelps when he’s tickled and taken care of. He also loved the poem on Parker’s card, which comes in its own little envelope, which I’ve now read several times over.

My son is still happily playing with his new pal, Parker.

Seedling emphasizes that Parker is a STEAM toy—that is, one that targets science, technology, education, arts, and mathematics-based learning and fun—and also suggests that it helps build empathy for other living creatures (pretend or otherwise) and digital literacy. But for all my son cared, it was just a silly and fun thing to do on Daddy’s phone with his new bear friend. Besides, learning is always best when you don’t realize it’s even happening, right?

Parker may not be the most technical or elaborate of app-enhanced toys, but there’s something very pure and sweet about the whole experience. It’s a great little plush bear with a few fun doctor toys alongside, and the app is just the cherry on top—albeit one you’ll pay a slight premium for in the overall cost. The app download is free, but the kit with Parker and all of the physical stuff is $60. That’s a little bit more than you’d probably pay for just toys of comparable quality.

Yes, that actually is pretty adorable…

And there’s an expansion pack, too: a Bedtime Kit ($40), which come with bear jammies, sleeping masks for both Parker and your kid, play toothbrushes for both, a storybook, and additional app content. I didn’t have a chance to try out the bonus bedtime stuff, but given my son’s reaction to Parker’s doctor gear, I’m sure he’d get a kick out of it. I’m not certain that I want to spend $40 on toy bear accessories, but it is a way to extend the experience. We’ll have to wait and see whether Seedling makes any further Parker add-on sets.

Parker: Your Augmented Reality Bear offers up one of the best compromises for a connected toy right now. When completely disconnected from screens, it’s still a delightful little plush bear ready to be hugged, tossed, trampled, and loved, not to mention used to spur little ones’ own imaginations. But when paired up with your iPad or iPhone, it has just enough of an added layer of storytelling and interactivity to make it worthwhile. That it works so well in both forms is really a delight.

‎Parker by HOMER on the App Store

Description

Parker is a classic teddy bear that unlocks a whole new way to play.

When your child plays with this app and Parker together, they will experience the magic of caring and playing in augmented reality.

Cure a tummy bug, cool a fever, and see Parker’s heart and lungs come to life in augmented reality. Utilizing the real-world doctor tools that come with Parker, your child will play along in the app while engaging in hands-on, classic play.

Caring for Parker encourages empathy, promotes problem solving, and engages your child in a creative and imaginative experience.

Highlights:

Parker will give you different problems to solve each time you open the app
Real-world tools in your Parker kit activate new visuals and effects in the app - like magic!
Watch Parker’s Happiness Factor™ go up each time you cure an ailment, solve a problem, or complete a game, then use the magic camera to see how Parker’s happiness transforms the world around you with augmented reality effects [featuring ARKit].
Create your own artwork and decorate your own bandages to personalize playtime with Parker.

STEAM Toy
Parker the Bear is a STEAM toy, offering children a multidimensional way to learn and play.

Science: Teaches basic biology through in-app doctor play.
Technology: Develops Digital Literacy and explores the magic of Augmented Reality
Educational: Promotes critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Encourages empathy.
Arts: Create drawings, connect the dots and even design your own bandage
Math: Solve puzzles, play games.

Parker is for ages 3+

Mar 10, 2022

Version 1.28

Regular maintenance to keep Parker’s games running. Please make sure you update the app to this latest version.

Ratings and Reviews

42 Ratings

App doesn’t work properly

Not sure what is going on. Tried to reach out to developer weeks ago and again today hopefully someone will get back to me. App keeps closing out for no reason. The screen will also just randomly go black. When you have to care for the bear on the screen he is always halfway off the screen and there is nothing to fix it. Also I threw away the welcome card because I figured it would save it but nope. Can’t even put the app on my phone or newer iPad without that card. Super frustrating for me and for my 3yo.

We are so sorry to hear this, but we are here to help! Please reach out to our Member Experience team at [email protected].

Almost great.

This is pretty good in theory, but there are some issues…
DO NOT LOSE THE OPENING LETTER AS YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO GET THE APP ON ANY OTHER DEVICE IF YOU DO.

The other thing that is frustrating is there is a screen that looks similar to the X-Ray, but more of like an MRI (showing organs), but it does nothing. I cannot figure it out and makes it seem like we are missing pieces, but I looked online and there is no MRI felt piece and the x-ray piece does not work for that screen either. We just exit out of it each time. Could use some instructions or a fix.

My daughter does really enjoy it and the physical pieces are really nice and quality.

Hi there! Can you email us at [email protected] with your issues with 
Parker? We can then send you a digital copy of the opening letter and help you with any other issues you are having with Parker. Thanks in advance!

Toddler loves it

This is the kind of gift for a toddler I can get behind! My 3y/o received this for his bday from his grandma and I am so happy he did! It incorporates technology while still focusing on creativity and imaginative play. He loves playing "Dr. Bear" with the iPad but still takes Parker to bed with him every night to cuddle. It is really the best of both worlds! In the overload of gifts from both Christmas and his birthday (which was a lot!), this was and still is by far his favorite. Highly recommend!

The developer, Homer, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy.

Data Not Collected

The developer does not collect any data from this app.

Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More

Information

Seller

HomerLearning, Inc.

Size

1.2 GB

Category

Games

Age Rating

4+, Made for Ages 0–5

Copyright

© 2014-2022 HomerLearning, Inc.

Price

Free

• App Support
• Privacy Policy

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