Israeli startup makes Peter Rabbit hop out of the book

Tel Aviv-based Inception adding augmented reality to beloved children’s stories published by Penguin Random House.

By Abigail Klein Leichman, Israel21c

Children will be able to interact with beloved characters such as Peter Rabbit, thanks to a pioneering Bookful platform from Israeli virtual and augmented reality (AR) company, Inception VR.

Penguin Random House is integrating Bookful into some of its most classic and front-list titles.

Beatrix Potter’s bestselling books “The Tale of Peter Rabbit,” “The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck” and “The Tale of Benjamin Bunny” each will feature both “read” and “play” modes, bringing illustrations to life using AR technology and allowing users to interact with the characters in the stories to augment their understanding and learning.

“Read” features a digital version of the book with illustrations that come to life throughout the story. “Play” features activities in which children can interact with characters from each book.

“Bringing books to life through augmented reality provides opportunities to get all children excited about books, whether they enjoy reading or not,” said Inception CEO Benny Arbel.

“We are looking to entertain, educate, and delight both children and parents alike, and reclaim some of the digital screen time for our favorite books and stories.”

Bookful will also be integrated into the “DK Children’s Encyclopedia” and two Step-into-Reading titles: “Dinosaur Days” by Joyce Milton, illustrated by Franco Tempesta, and “S-s-snakes” by Lucille Recht Penner, illustrated by Peter Barrett.

Based in Tel Aviv, Inception is a next-generation immersive (VR/AR) content network that has brought to market multiple solutions including the Inception VR entertainment app introduced in October 2016, which now has over 1 million downloads.

Inception VRIsraeli startup