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Virry Wins Prestigious Webby Award
LONDON, April 27, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --
Breakthrough Educational App Now Available for iPad
Fountain Digital Labs' Virry, the breakthrough educational app that keeps wild animals
very real for children, today won the People's Choice Webby award in the mobile sites &
apps category of "Family & Kids". Virry is the first app that offers children, and
animal-loving adults, the opportunity to seemingly interact with exotic animals through
their iPad. Having just launched in test markets to date, Virry already has some celebrity
fans (see Editor's Notes) and is now available for free download in the iTunes Store.
(Photo:
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150427/740831 )
In addition to innovative live animal video feeds, remotely operated by experienced
wildlife documentarians for BBC and Disney, what makes Virry different is that the game
mechanics are built into raw film footage of real wild animals. This creates a whole new
experience for children to encounter the animal world firsthand - from lions and meerkats
to giraffes and rhinos. For example, the child tilts the iPad to drop a hunk of meat for
Limun the lion and then shouts into the iPad to attract her attention to it and watches as
Limun apparently 'responds'.
Virry was created in collaboration with academic Prof. Gail F. Melson, an authority on
children's development and leader in the field of Human-Animal Interaction (HAI) at Purdue
University, USA. Author of Where the Wild Things Are: Animals in the Lives of Children,
Prof. Melson says:
"Virry supports children by broadening their perspective-taking in a self-directed
environment. This is vital for developing positive social skills. Virry also builds core
cognitive and learning skills in its interactive videos - skills like if-then reasoning,
multi-step problem-solving, understanding abstract concepts like more-less, bigger-smaller
- foundational skills for young children."
Recruiting only the brightest and the best, Virry creator Svetlana Dragayeva enlisted
the help of award-winning film director Martin Percy and production powerhouse, Unit 9 to
bring Virry to life. Svetlana Dragayeva, Innovation Director at Fountain Digital Labs
says:
"Virry allows children to experience real wild animals but doesn't overlay the
experience with crude animations, human emotions or anthropomorphism. Virry encourages
parents to use digital culture to nurture children through nature.
We are honoured to win a Webby having just launched in test markets to date. Now that
Virry is available to children globally, we look forward to hearing what they have to say
and their experiences with our animal family."
With an unusual development approach firmly rooted in sciences - formal (computer),
natural (Zoology), and social (psychology), a marked development characteristic for
Virry's creators has been the necessity to balance the virtual (app) and real (wildlife)
to create a fresh experience for animal loving 2-7 year olds.
Virry is filmed at Al Ain Zoo in the UAE (with more partnerships to come over time)
and is brought to life by an international team of academics, award-winning film industry
veterans, wildlife experts as well technology specialists. The result is an exceptionally
deep educational technology experience guided by nature.
You can learn more at http://www.virryapp.com. Virry is now available for free
download to iPad in the iTunes Store.
Editor's Notes
Celebrity Testimonials
Dominic West, Actor known for playing Det. Jimmy McNulty in The Wire
"I spent all morning on Virry with my two boys and we love it. We fed a lion and
watched a rhino live all from our living room sofa! It's a safe, educational and utterly
compelling way to learn about the animals we love. Get on it, it's brilliant!"
Steve Backshall
"This is a terrific gateway to the wild world, a chance for kids to reach out to
animals on the other side of the world. A young audience engage most effectively with
wildlife when they feel like they have an actual connection to the animals, as if they can
reach out and touch them, actually interacting with wild wonders. This ap enables the user
to do just that, watching exotic and iconic animals in real time, taking part as their
real lives and dramas unfold, whilst learning hot facts and playing games that let them
feel like they are a part of the animal's world."
About Fountain Digital Labs
Established in 2013, Fountain Digital Labs is a funded company with a truly
collaborative International team of more than 15 people across 4 countries. With offices
in the UK and Russia, FDL's London office is at the heart of the thriving TechHub
community at Silicon Roundabout.
Photo:
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150427/740831
Photo:http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150427/740831
http://photoarchive.ap.org/
Fountain Digital Labs
CONTACT: For more information or images, please contact: Charlotte Vaughan - +44 7817 140174
Virry Wins Prestigious Webby Award
LONDON, April 27, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --
Breakthrough Educational App Now Available for iPad
Fountain Digital Labs' Virry, the breakthrough educational app that keeps wild animals
very real for children, today won the People's Choice Webby award in the mobile sites &
apps category of "Family & Kids". Virry is the first app that offers children, and
animal-loving adults, the opportunity to seemingly interact with exotic animals through
their iPad. Having just launched in test markets to date, Virry already has some celebrity
fans (see Editor's Notes) and is now available for free download in the iTunes Store.
(Photo:
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150427/740831 )
In addition to innovative live animal video feeds, remotely operated by experienced
wildlife documentarians for BBC and Disney, what makes Virry different is that the game
mechanics are built into raw film footage of real wild animals. This creates a whole new
experience for children to encounter the animal world firsthand - from lions and meerkats
to giraffes and rhinos. For example, the child tilts the iPad to drop a hunk of meat for
Limun the lion and then shouts into the iPad to attract her attention to it and watches as
Limun apparently 'responds'.
Virry was created in collaboration with academic Prof. Gail F. Melson, an authority on
children's development and leader in the field of Human-Animal Interaction (HAI) at Purdue
University, USA. Author of Where the Wild Things Are: Animals in the Lives of Children,
Prof. Melson says:
"Virry supports children by broadening their perspective-taking in a self-directed
environment. This is vital for developing positive social skills. Virry also builds core
cognitive and learning skills in its interactive videos - skills like if-then reasoning,
multi-step problem-solving, understanding abstract concepts like more-less, bigger-smaller
- foundational skills for young children."
Recruiting only the brightest and the best, Virry creator Svetlana Dragayeva enlisted
the help of award-winning film director Martin Percy and production powerhouse, Unit 9 to
bring Virry to life. Svetlana Dragayeva, Innovation Director at Fountain Digital Labs
says:
"Virry allows children to experience real wild animals but doesn't overlay the
experience with crude animations, human emotions or anthropomorphism. Virry encourages
parents to use digital culture to nurture children through nature.
We are honoured to win a Webby having just launched in test markets to date. Now that
Virry is available to children globally, we look forward to hearing what they have to say
and their experiences with our animal family."
With an unusual development approach firmly rooted in sciences - formal (computer),
natural (Zoology), and social (psychology), a marked development characteristic for
Virry's creators has been the necessity to balance the virtual (app) and real (wildlife)
to create a fresh experience for animal loving 2-7 year olds.
Virry is filmed at Al Ain Zoo in the UAE (with more partnerships to come over time)
and is brought to life by an international team of academics, award-winning film industry
veterans, wildlife experts as well technology specialists. The result is an exceptionally
deep educational technology experience guided by nature.
You can learn more at http://www.virryapp.com. Virry is now available for free
download to iPad in the iTunes Store.
Editor's Notes
Celebrity Testimonials
Dominic West, Actor known for playing Det. Jimmy McNulty in The Wire
"I spent all morning on Virry with my two boys and we love it. We fed a lion and
watched a rhino live all from our living room sofa! It's a safe, educational and utterly
compelling way to learn about the animals we love. Get on it, it's brilliant!"
Steve Backshall
"This is a terrific gateway to the wild world, a chance for kids to reach out to
animals on the other side of the world. A young audience engage most effectively with
wildlife when they feel like they have an actual connection to the animals, as if they can
reach out and touch them, actually interacting with wild wonders. This ap enables the user
to do just that, watching exotic and iconic animals in real time, taking part as their
real lives and dramas unfold, whilst learning hot facts and playing games that let them
feel like they are a part of the animal's world."
About Fountain Digital Labs
Established in 2013, Fountain Digital Labs is a funded company with a truly
collaborative International team of more than 15 people across 4 countries. With offices
in the UK and Russia, FDL's London office is at the heart of the thriving TechHub
community at Silicon Roundabout.
Photo:
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150427/740831
Photo:http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150427/740831
http://photoarchive.ap.org/
Fountain Digital Labs
CONTACT: For more information or images, please contact: Charlotte Vaughan - +44 7817 140174