14,498 research outputs found

    Toys That Listen: A Study of Parents, Children, and Internet-Connected Toys

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    Hello Barbie, CogniToys Dino, and Amazon Echo are part of a new wave of connected toys and gadgets for the home that listen. Unlike the smartphone, these devices are always on, blending into the background until needed. We conducted interviews with parent-child pairs in which they interacted with Hello Barbie and CogniToys Dino, shedding light on children’s expectations of the toys’ “intelligence” and parents’ privacy concerns and expectations for parental controls. We find that children were often unaware that others might be able to hear what was said to the toy, and that some parents draw connections between the toys and similar tools not intended as toys (e.g., Siri, Alexa) with which their children already interact. Our findings illuminate people’s mental models and experiences with these emerging technologies and will help inform the future designs of interactive, connected toys and gadgets. We conclude with recommendations for designers and policy makers.https://digitalcommons.law.uw.edu/techlab/1002/thumbnail.jp

    Research Project for Rokenbok Educational Foundation

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    Research project on Equipo de Ingenieros en Accion (Team of Engineers in Action), a collaborative program of Rokenbok Educational Foundation and Center for Academic and Social Advancement.https://digital.sandiego.edu/npi-bpl-programdesign/1006/thumbnail.jp

    Exploring Research through Design in Animal-Computer Interaction

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    This paper explores Research through Design (RtD) as a potential methodology for developing new interactive experiences for animals. We present an example study from an on-going project and examine whether RtD offers an appropriate framework for developing knowledge in the context of Animal-Computer Interaction, as well as considering how best to document such work. We discuss the design journey we undertook to develop interactive systems for captive elephants and the extent to which RtD has enabled us to explore concept development and documentation of research. As a result of our explorations, we propose that particular aspects of RtD can help ACI researchers gain fresh perspectives on the design of technology-enabled devices for non-human animals. We argue that these methods of working can support the investigation of particular and complex situations where no idiomatic interactions yet exist, where collaborative practice is desirable and where the designed objects themselves offer a conceptual window for future research and development

    Exploring the affordances of smart toys and connected play in practice

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    What does children’s play look like in the smart toy era? What conceptual frameworks help make sense of the changing practices of children’s connected play worlds? Responding to these questions, this article re-frames discussions about children’s smart toy play within wider theoretical debates about the affordances of new digital materialities. To understand recent transformations of children’s play practices, we propose it is necessary to think of toys as increasingly media-like in their affordances and as connected to wider digital material ecosystems. To demonstrate the potential of this conceptual approach, we explore illustrative examples of two popular smart ‘care toys’. Our analysis identifies three examples of affordances that smart care toys share with other forms of mobile and robotic media: liveliness, affective stickiness and portability. We argue that locating discussions of smart toys within wider conceptual debates about digital materialities can provide new insights into the changing landscape of children’s play

    Moving beyond boundaries: When user-centered design meets sociology

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    In this paper, we consider the potential of combining design, engineering and sociological perspectives with user perspectives, as part of a user-centered, inclusive design process. Our particular interest lies in the design of inclusive toys and games that disabled and non-disabled children can play together and which foster positive interactions between children across difference. We explore the challenges and opportunities associated with working in a transdisciplinary mode, where knowledge production evolves from dynamic tension between different disciplinary perspectives and those of non-academic stakeholders. We argue that the latter is of particular importance within any design process that seeks to provide accessibility and empower users. Such transdisciplinarity involves an upstream approach to the involvement of non-academic interests in the design process and knowledge production, rather than limiting the engagement of/with users to the dissemination end point stage of research (Barry, forthcoming). The paper draws upon two case studies of projects conducted by the authors. Both projects involve the use of co-operative inquiry [14] with children and we seek to extract the pedagogical implications of both projects for future design, including that within the field of ICT and digital technologies, with and for children

    Global Childhoods, Asian Lifeworlds: After School Time in Hong Kong

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    Explores home spaces through a cultural lens, asking questions about eastern and western perceptions of home learning

    Moving beyond boundaries: When user-centered design meets sociology

    Get PDF
    In this paper, we consider the potential of combining design, engineering and sociological perspectives with user perspectives, as part of a user-centered, inclusive design process. Our particular interest lies in the design of inclusive toys and games that disabled and non-disabled children can play together and which foster positive interactions between children across difference. We explore the challenges and opportunities associated with working in a transdisciplinary mode, where knowledge production evolves from dynamic tension between different disciplinary perspectives and those of non-academic stakeholders. We argue that the latter is of particular importance within any design process that seeks to provide accessibility and empower users. Such transdisciplinarity involves an upstream approach to the involvement of non-academic interests in the design process and knowledge production, rather than limiting the engagement of/with users to the dissemination end point stage of research (Barry, forthcoming). The paper draws upon two case studies of projects conducted by the authors. Both projects involve the use of co-operative inquiry [14] with children and we seek to extract the pedagogical implications of both projects for future design, including that within the field of ICT and digital technologies, with and for children

    Theoretical-practical research

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    Dissertação de Mestrado em Design, com a especialização em Design de Produto, apresentada na Faculdade de Arquitetura da Universidade de Lisboa para obtenção do grau de Mestre.N/
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