System, apparatus, and method for educating and reducing stress for patients with illness or trauma using an interactive location-aware toy and a distributed sensor network

A system, comprising:

• a plurality of location-identifying objects each disposed proximally to a corresponding room among a plurality of rooms of a healthcare facility;
• and
• a smart toy including an object identifier, an internal storage device, a microprocessor, and a speaker,
• wherein:
• the object identifier is configured to read a particular location-identifying object from among the plurality of location-identifying objects;
• the internal storage device is configured to store location-specific content;
• and
• the microprocessor is configured to cause the location-specific content to be provided to a patient via the smart toy responsive to the object identifier reading the particular location-identifying object from among the plurality of location-identifying objects;
• wherein:
• the location-specific content includes location-specific audible content;
• and
• the microprocessor is configured to cause the location-specific audible content to be emitted via the speaker of the smart toy responsive to the object identifier reading the particular location-identifying object from among the plurality of location-identifying objects.

A smart toy, comprising:

• an object identifier, an internal storage device, a microprocessor, a display screen, and a speaker,
• wherein:
• the object identifier is configured to read a particular location-identifying object from among a plurality of location-identifying objects;
• the internal storage device is configured to store location-specific content;
• and
• the microprocessor is configured to cause the location-specific content to be provided to a patient via the smart toy responsive to the object identifier reading the particular location-identifying object from among the plurality of location-identifying objects;
• wherein:
• the location-specific content includes location-specific viewable content and location-specific audible content;
• and
• the microprocessor is configured to cause at least one of i) the location-specific viewable content to be displayed on the display screen of the smart toy or ii) the location-specific audible content to be emitted via the speaker of the smart toy, responsive to the object identifier reading the particular location-identifying object from among the plurality of location-identifying objects.