Osmo Detective Agency taps AR to put kids in the role of globe-trotting gumshoe

Tangible Play, the Palo Alto startup behind the augmented reality Osmo game system, has sold its 11 educational games in over 42 countries and more than 30,000 schools. Today, just months after it made its millionth sale on iPad, the company unveiled the newest entrant in the Osmo franchise: Detective Agency

Detective Agency’s technological underpinnings aren’t much different from that of Osmo games before it. The kit ships with a mirror that slots on top of an iPad, Kindle Fire (with Osmo for Amazon Fire), or iPhone (with Osmo iPhone Base) and reflects back interactions with physical game pieces . Thanks to a clever bit of computer vision, those interactions trigger onscreen actions, effects, and playful animations unique to each scene and setting. (Tangible Play calls it “Reflective AI.”)