Edinburgh based start-up Playable Technology beat the drum for Scottish innovation at this month’s prestigious South By South West (SXSW) festival in Austin, Texas.

Playable Technology, founded just over two years ago, launched BeatBlocks at this year’s conference. BeatBlocks is an app that enables you to to build music in real-time using toy bricks, such as Lego the world’s most popular toy used by over 100 million families worldwide.

BeatBlocks combines digital technology with hands-on play to give children the best of both digital and real-world environments.

Founded by Scottish academics and technology entrepreneurs, David Skulina and Benjaman Schogler, Playable develops creative technology, either through third-party commissions or self-funded commercial enterprises such as BeatBlocks. The team has a proven track record of building successful highly visible partnerships, notably with Apple Inc. and Sesame Workshop.

The duo were behind the success of the Skoog, a cubed musical instrument for special needs education and music therapy, developed in Scotland and now retailed around the world by Apple.

“BeatBlocks extends the scope of construction toys like Lego , honouring the original spirit of the toys, and adding an entirely new layer of creativity,” said co-founder Benjaman Schogler, a developmental psychologist and expert in educational technology, learning and play.

“Our shared ethos is to give children the freedom to play and express themselves creatively by combining building bricks with an intuitive digital experience.”

“The App is so easy to use there is no need for training or lessons. It really is child’s play. If we can tap into a tiny percentage of the six million users of the 'Lego  life' App, we are laying the foundations for a thriving technology business generating lots of business and employment opportunities for Scotland’s technology sector,” said Ben.

Playable was invited to appear as part at SXSW’s Immersive Futures Lab by Creative Informatics and the Creative Economy Team (CFT). Also attending from Scotland were Ray Interactive, Black Goblin, and SENSEcity.

“We were delighted to give Playable Technology, alongside our other partner companies, the opportunity to showcase their innovative products to a globally connected audience at SXSW. To see such engagement in and excitement for their work from a wide range of individuals and companies showed the true impact potential of their ideas, and we look forward to seeing them continue to expand and innovate both around BeatBlocks and their many other ground-breaking ideas, to create valuable new opportunities for creative technology both within and beyond Scotland.” Victoria Murray, Project and Engagement Manager, Creative Informatics.

“Over 250,000 global visitors come to SWSX to celebrate the convergence of the interactive, film & television, and music industries. There are few better platforms

to showcase BeatBlocks and Scottish digital innovation,” said David Skulina, whose PhD in Musical Acoustics involved firing high powered lasers at flutes amongst a host of other innovative research techniques.

“We are delighted to be supported by Creative Informatics. Their resident entrepreneurs programme enabled us to officially launch BeatBlocks on a world stage in front of genuine technology influencers.”

Playable’s AI powered music technology is currently featured at the Manchester Science and Industry Museum’s “Turn it Up: the power of music” exhibition. The installation enables visitors to play together in a band, building music using Lego  duplo bricks. Playable are looking to mirror the revenue model used by the likes of popular games such as Fortnite and Roblox. BeatBlock’s in-app currency can be used to purchase new sound packs, educational add-ons and exciting extras. Players will be able to earn credits through play, meaning the more music they create the more music they can make.

“When we play, we learn. BeatBlocks is all about having fun, getting creative and making music” (Dr Ben Schogler).