The people
What they build
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Working at Robot Playtime
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On the TechTO stage
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About
The idea came out of Alex Hong's own frustration building a robot for a school project. Rather than sell hardware, Robot Playtime used the device families already own: mount a phone or tablet and it becomes Pixel, a robot that starts with no intelligence or personality at all, so the child has to program one in. On the TechTO stage in March 2018 the founders had a first-time programmer build "hello world" in a few blocks, then wire up a reaction — poke Pixel's eye, it turns red, sounds an alarm and answers back — before driving a Lego EV3 build that used ultrasonic sensors to track a hand. Hong told BetaKit the emotion work had an unplanned use: children with autism could name an emotion and watch the robot perform it. The company came through NEXT Canada's Next 36 and won the programme's Mastercard Challenge in August 2017, beating six other startups. Hong had done his M.A.Sc. at the University of Toronto on emotion-recognition architectures for human-robot interaction. The Pixel app is no longer listed on Google Play or the App Store, though robotplaytime.com still resolves.
Backers
No outside funding found; the company went through NEXT Canada's Next 36 programme.
Quick answers
What was Pixel?
An app that turned a smartphone or tablet into a robot called Pixel. Pixel shipped with no personality — kids used drag-and-drop blocks to program its face, emotions, speech and reactions, and could connect it to Lego Mindstorms, Arduino or Raspberry Pi to give it wheels, arms and sensors.
Who founded Robot Playtime?
Alex Hong and Onome Igharoro, in Toronto in 2015. Hong had the idea after struggling to build a robot for a school project, and did his M.A.Sc. at the University of Toronto on emotion recognition for human-robot interaction.
What did it achieve?
It won the Next 36 Mastercard Challenge in August 2017, pitching against six other NEXT Canada startups, and demoed Pixel live at TechTO in March 2018.
Can you still get the app?
No. The Google Play and App Store listings both return 404 as of 10 August 2026, though robotplaytime.com still resolves and still describes Pixel.