Child’s Play Extension Project: Design Heuristics and Method for Instrumenting a Surface Grip Sensing Toy
Manohar Ganesan, Rahul Rajan, Neil Russell, Nathan Welch
CS 7470 - Mobile and Ubiquitous Computing, Fall 2009
![Rahul.Rajan
[at] gmail [dot] com](Childs_Play_files/shapeimage_2.png)
Abstract: Modern toys are interactive, motivate play, and can be used to aid detection and analysis of play behavior. Our research has investigated the use of wireless sensors embedded in toys to aid in the automatic detection and analysis of children's playtime activities. In order to guide age appropriate interaction style and facilitate data collection (adult vs. child), we need to identify who is playing with the toy. This becomes especially challenging when these smart toys are deployed into everyday play areas. In this paper we describe a formative design methodology to inform the creation of a smart toy that could allow differentiation between a child and adult. We also describe an evaluation of our prototype design from a pilot study that shows promise for future research.