Toddlers and interactive media

(1)

1

Toddlers and

interactive media

(2)

2

Abstract

The single biggest change in every day life

for toddlers over the last couple of years

has been the introduction of interactive

media in the form of phones and tablets.

How this affects those children is yet mostly

unknown. Many parents utter concerns

that their children use it too much, yet they

feel they have no other options when it

comes to distracting their children. Using

the design process this problem is tackled

from a holistic point of view, looking at

both the child, parent and context. The

solutions presented in this project is a

(3)

3

Content

Background 6

The child

7 Standard development

8 Anna Olausson:

10 Moa Markström:

11 The parent

12 The context

14 Reddit survey

15 Recommended toys & apps

16 Options today

18 Options from the past

19 Summary & Conclusions

20 My take:

21

(4)

4

Background

Children today spend a lot of time in front of screens. This is often a

sedentary activity, and many parents testify that they feel distanced from

their children. The phone and tablet provides several positive things for

the children’s development, the digital nature of these objects allow them

to have tailored responses made to stimulate and intrigue the child. This

captivates the child like few other toys do. This effect is often used by

parents to buy themselves time and some peace and quiet.

Project aim

Delimitations

The plan for this project is to first investigate what types of activities provided by interactive media encourages healthy mental and physical development in toddlers.

The intent is then to develop an alternative to traditional on-screen interaction retaining these positive features. It is not meant to replace the use of smartphone and tablet as there are many beneficial activities that are best suited for this type of format. Instead it is to be used in tandem with on-screen media to create a varied and stimulating environment for children to grow up and develop in.

Children’s needs vary a lot though out the early years. Therefore, focus will be on the very specific range between the ages of 1-3. This project is also developed with primarily a Swedish context in mind. Since the project is only 10 weeks long, there will probably be no time to test the finished concept after development on the user group. Should this be desired, there is the opportunity for further development after the project with various partners such as “Uminova” here in Umeå.

These numbers are from 2015 so the percentage s probably even higher. Source: statens mediaråd

0-1 years

2-4 years

5-8 years

(5)

5

The child

During the first three years, a lot happens. The brain goes through changes faster than during any other time in life. The first two years consist mostly of exploration, having not yet grasped the concept of abstract thinking all these children do is test and try to understand the world around them. The inability to do any kind of logical reasoning leaves 0-2-year old with no other method of solving their problems than trial and error. (Evenshaug & Hallen 1981 page 117) What does something that looks hairy feel like? I will have to touch it! What does pinching mommy do? I will have to try it! Building this mental library is closely related to the development of their motor skills. At first all they use to interact with the world is their mouth, but as they gain control of hands and fingers they can study the world with more precise instruments, thereby moving their cognitive skills forward. At two years, they gain the ability to engage in “pretend play” using objects as symbols for other things they know. A block of wood could be a car, or a house. It is also around this time they start taking other beings perspective in mind, maybe the car is hungry or lonely. Before this they have an almost completely egocentric world view.

Playing is now a tool in their arsenal and they use it all the time to try to understand the world around them. “You don’t have to tell a child to play, they just do it. It’s their way of handling the world” -Anna Olausson.

Karen Adolph (2005, 2008; Adolph & Berger, 2006) suggested that a complex relationship exists between cognitive and motor skills development in infants. Since infants are learning to process a complex and changing world at the same time that they are learning gross and fine motor skills, they are in a state of constant adaptation. Their bodies are changing simultaneously as the world around them is presenting new information. Thus, their physical existence in the world – and their movement through it – is one that requires constant cognitive problem solving. In short, infants spend the vast majority of their existence, when they are not sleeping, learning how to learn.

(6)

6

Standard development

1

2

3

Takes first step Explores mainly

with the mouth

Explores with the whole hand

Uses all fingers

Cognitive

Motor

Emotional

Physical toys

Apps

Says first words

Starts saying words together

Speaks multi-word sentences

Runs and jumps Can drink from sippy cup

Can point to body parts

Can sort by color and shape

Can follow simple prompts Mimics sound

Uses thumb and fore finger to explore objects

Can stack blocks Can climb stairs

Can scribble with a crayon

May begin to show hand preference

Can draw circles

Capable of holding pencil in writing position

Bends over easily without falling Can screw and

unscrew jars and lids

Capable of pedaling a tricycle

Capable of walking up and down stairs, alternating feet

Shows shyness

Has separation anxiety Separation anxiety

eases Has fear of strangers Develops self-awareness Begins to show defiant behavior Feels envy Shows empathy

Feels shame Begins to view own behavior

against a standard

Can take turns in games Feels pride Feels shame Tantrums happen Recognize emotions Begins to negotiate solutions to conflicts Can distinguish two

or three items

parentingcounts.org, pbs.org, zerotothree.org, Pappasappar.se, 1177.se

Pretend play including symbolic use of objects

Can understand others intentions

Can solve puzzles with 3-4 pieces

Can solve mechanical puzzles

Capable of some deception

Capable of lying Understands that

words can refer to objects

Has a vocabulary of 200 words

Have a vocabulary of 1000 words Recognizes own face

Capable of turning pages one at a time

Becomes primarily left-hand-ed or right-handleft-hand-ed

Blocks

Figures in wood or plastiv

Box to put things in/ pick things out of

Mirrors Squeaking toys Walking aids Dolls Hammering toys Sorting toys Toy telephone Drag-toys Drums Trolleys

Toy tools (Gradening/Cooking/Building)

Sockdolls/fingerdolls Pens/crayons Cartrack/train set Building toys Rocking horse/seesaw Picturebooks Trike/toy car

Arts and craft toys Balls

Fancy-dress

Pop-up books

Musical instruments Simple facts books

Dolls with interchangeable clothes

Lego/mekano Slide

Large buttons that play sound

Create your own melodies

Explore a world with an avatar

Rattling apps

Different environments with music

Simple facts apps

Picturebook apps

Dollhouse apps

Problem solving

and puzzles Teaching/facts apps

Tamagotchi apps

Memory and connection making

apps Charecter creation

Mathematics apps

Spelling apps Dollhouse

Even though progress varies from child to child there is a pretty even

progression of events or “milestones” that a child goes through during

the first years. Here they are divided into Cognitive, Motor and Emotional

development. The information comes from various web-based organisations

(parentingcounts.org, pbs.org) as well as Oddbjörn & Dag Hallens

(7)

7

1

2

3

with the mouth

Uses all fingers

Cognitive

Motor

Emotional

Physical toys

Apps

Says first words

Can stack blocks Can climb stairs

Can draw circles

Shows shyness

Has separation anxiety Separation anxiety

eases Has fear of strangers Develops self-awareness Begins to show defiant behavior Feels envy Shows empathy

Feels shame Begins to view own behavior

against a standard

or three items

parentingcounts.org, pbs.org, zerotothree.org, Pappasappar.se,

Blocks

Fancy-dress

Pop-up books

Lego/mekano Slide

Rattling apps

Simple facts apps

Picturebook apps

Dollhouse apps

Problem solving

Tamagotchi apps

apps Charecter creation

Mathematics apps

It’s interesting to note how much happens in

the development in fine motor skills from

12-24 months and the drastic change in cognitive

abilities after 24 months with the entry of

(8)

8

Anna Olausson:

Anna is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Applied Educational Science. She is a pedagogue and educates preschool teachers. During the interview, we mainly discussed the cognitive, motor and emotional development in toddlers. The leading question for discussion was “what do children need.”

Anna begins by mentioning that the views on this topic has changed much during the 1900s. In the 50’s and 60’s there was very a specific set of ideas of what children needed to “develop normally,” nowadays the attitude is less strict. Children need the same type of stimuli as adults. Maybe not in the same way, but a variety of impressions of different types is recommended for healthy development.

She also mentioned a change in attitude that takes place in the preschool, where they are now beginning to warn of “over schooling”. That in an attempt to teach children as much information as possible we under prioritize toddlers need of free play and exploration. Play is important for brain development and should not be underestimated as a tool for learning. “You don’t have to tell children to play, they just do it. It’s their way of interpreting the world. “

The discussion moves on to what type of stimulus that engages children. This is something that moves quickly as the children’s cognitive and motor skills develop. Anna also mentions that it is not only the amount of stimuli, but also the variety - “A small child can quite quickly get tired of something. They test all they can and when they have reached the limit of that object, they want to move on”. During the first two years, almost everything kids do is to explore the world. They test what they encounter with the tools they have.

When it comes to changing the impressions, it is exciting

up to a certain limit. Change too much and something that was exciting can suddenly become alien and frightening.

This can be seen when, for example a mother has gotten a new hairstyle or the blankie has been washed and does not smell like it used to. Anna appreciates this limit to about 90% staying familiar. “Change it too much, and it suddenly becomes a new thing. Then it may rather be a loss than a gain“. Anna follow up with an example from her own son. It was Christmas eve and he had just received a large package with pretty wrapping paper. When the paper got torn of, he was more disappointed than amused. The visually intriguing package was more interesting than the actual gift and now he had lost it. “Things that are obvious to us can be exciting for them.” One thing that is certain is that faces are always intriguing, Anna points out that the combination of eyes, nose, mouth is something even the smallest child reacts positively to, and try to communicate with.

Children often want to play together with others or at least in the presence of others. It is not uncommon for children to take toys from their room into the kitchen and play with them on the kitchen floor, where mom and dad are. It is not so important that the parent is part of the game, as long as they take a peek now and then. On the question of whether it is important for toddler to be alone Anna replies that it is not usually a problem, if a child wants to be alone they will seek solitude voluntarily, mostly toddlers want to be with others as much as possible but this varies from person to person.

Senior lecturer in pedagogics at the

(9)

9

Moa Markström:

Moa is the mother of a one-year-old daughter and a three-year-old son. Lately the phone and tablet has seen an increase in use at home. This is because since their daughter was born they have needed to preoccupy their son more often. When the baby needs a nappie change or gets put to sleep their son gets handed an iPad to buy her some time. “You just want to be there for everyone. If he wants to play it feels bad to say: No, you will have to sit with the tablet because I need to tend to your sister. But if I give him something that doesn’t interest him enough he comes back 20 times and it makes it difficult to put the baby to sleep”.

Moa sees no direct problem with the tablet. It depends a lot on what they use it for. Playing different games is preferred, because it feel like they are learning. But if her son gets to pick he watches video clips. “I don’t feel bad about it, because it works. But it doesn’t feel right to always use that solution. But I wouldn’t know what the alternative would be either”.

Sometimes she feels that it is too much. For example, if they are home on a sick day. It often ends up with him sitting too long with the tablet since they don’t have much energy for playing. If she knows that he’s been at preschool and has been playing all day, 30 minutes of screen time won’t do any harm.

The one year old does not yet play games on her own, but her son has started playing games alone with animals and different figurines in plastic. He moves them back and forth on the floor and talks to him self. He even gives the different characters’ voices of their own. This usually goes on for about 30 minutes before he gets bored and moves on to something else. When asked if there is ever any problem quitting in the middle of playing Moa says there

usually isn’t, except in the case of using the tablet. Then he can get upset and throw a tantrum. When he is playing any other game, they can play together for a minute and then it feels ok to go to bed, or dinner.

There is not much difference playing by himself and when Moa is with him. Often Moa gets handed a role for her to play for example a car or an animal. Sometimes she comes with suggestions to the game but if he is fully engaged in play it is just his rules. It is almost as if he is playing by himself only that one of the character has come to life and can interact back with him. One thing Moa has noticed is how differently playing together with her and another child works. As a parent, she always accepts the role she is given but other children often want to decide for themselves who to play as. Then he is more willing to make compromises. Whether this is because she is a grown up or because she doesn’t complain she does not know.

The past year he has started to learn that Moa doesn’t always have time to play with him. If he is in a bad mood, he can still get sad or throw a fit. Moa thinks this is a combination of him growing up and the fact that there is another baby in the family now that need a lot of time from her.

(10)

10

The parent

If we assume the parents of 2018 are between the ages of 25-35 it means

they were born between 1983-1993. These are the people referred to as

the millennials. Millennials are often mocked for being irresponsible and

self-focused but they are growing up to become one of the most “aware”

consumer groups. They want brands that emit values like authenticity,

quality and accountability. This demand for responsible brands can still be

seen as a form of narcissism as it is mostly there for others to see.

According to WGSN It is estimated that in the next 10-15 years, 80% of millennials worldwide will be parents and by 2017 they will have more spending power than any other generation. They are what we designers call “tech-native” meaning they grew up with technology in their homes and connection to the internet. Being connected and sharing their lives online is a normal and intuitive part of life. This brings a sense of community, allowing them to interact with other parents and supporting each other. This also brings more pressure. Comparing your children to your friends is an added stress causing a lot of anxiety for many young parents. In contrast to their parents’ generation the millennials are more laid back in their parenting style. They have a more relaxed relationship to their kids

and a more playful attitude with less rules and less punishment for misbehaviour. Compared to previous generations they don’t value financial security over creative freedom and self-fulfilment.

BabyCenter (2014) finds that a brand’s social responsibility is 12% more important to a millennial parent than it was to a Generation Xer. The brand of the products and objects are important to portray a self-image similar to clothing. The most fashionable style is to show that you are an aware, modern and responsible consumer.

(11)

11 “More than ever before, contemporary parents are

under pressure to raise a successful, smart, caring

and healthy child. With high costs of living, career

demands and the glare of social-media perfection,

today’s parents are looking for ways to protect both

their children and themselves.”

WGSN on contemporary parents

(12)

12 Being the parent of a small child is a time-consuming job. Often the

parents must set their own needs aside, but sometimes things simply need

to get done. Sometimes you have to shower, eat or focus on driving. This

is often a stress factor as small children do not understand the concept

of bad timing. Toddlers have an almost complete egocentric world view

and cannot comprehend that someone else has other priorities than

themselves. (Evenshaug & Hallen, 1981 page 124)

The phone and tablet are great tools in the parents’ arsenal at times like these as they can completely swallow the attention of a child. This is frequently used by parents today in order to buy themselves some time. Another benefit is the fact that they are so easy to bring with you. This is important since these moments can occur anywhere, in the car or at the grandparents’ house.

It is not directly harmful but it is also not recommended to use for too long periods or too often. Parents know this and many of them feel a slight shame when they yet again bring out the

phone. “I don’t feel bad for doing it, because it works. But it doesn’t feel great to always have that solution.” Moa Markgren

In what situations does the phone and tablet get

used in parenting?

(13)

13 “We basically use video and game apps on our iphone

when she’s not being cooperative and we need her to get

dressed or get in her car seat. She zones out and we

can get her to cooperate. I have mixed feelings about

it. We prefer educational videos and games. I don’t feel

as guilty when she’s watching home videos of her family

or of our trip to the zoo.”

“The way she zones out in front of screens is a little

concerning, and it bothers me when she gets SO upset

when it’s time to turn the video off. She also tends to

“channel surf” instead of watching a short video from

beginning to end, which leads me believe she may not

be ready as far as attention span. When she first starting

watching home videos she would get very overstimulated

and cranky.”

Theobat from the reddit survey

Reddit survey

Reddit is a network of forums with an integrated sorting

algorithm. Using the “subreddit” r/AskParents i was able to

reach parents wanting to share their knowledge. They were

asked three questions:

-What is your toddler/s relationship to phones and tablets?

-What do they primarily use them for and how much?

-How do you as a parent feel about it?

(14)

14

toys & apps

Melissa & Doug Brio

Brio

KlangDings Fisher-Price

1

2

3

with the mouth

Uses all fingers

Cognitive

Motor

Emotional

Physical toys

Apps

Says first words

Can stack blocks

Can climb stairs

Can draw circles

Shows shyness

Has separation anxiety Separation anxiety eases Has fear of strangers Develops self-awareness Begins to show defiant behavior Feels envy Shows empathy

Feels shame Begins to view own behavior against a standard

or three items

Blocks

Fancy-dress

Pop-up books

Lego/mekano Slide

Rattling apps

Simple facts apps

Picturebook apps

Dollhouse apps

Problem solving

Tamagotchi apps

apps Charecter creation Mathematics apps

(15)

15

1

2

3

with the mouth

Uses all fingers

Cognitive

Motor

Emotional

Physical toys

Apps

Says first words

Can stack blocks

Can climb stairs

Can draw circles

Shows shyness

Has separation anxiety Separation anxiety eases Has fear of strangers Develops self-awareness Begins to show defiant behavior Feels envy Shows empathy

Feels shame Begins to view own behavior against a standard

or three items

Blocks

Fancy-dress

Pop-up books

Lego/mekano Slide

Rattling apps

Simple facts apps

Picturebook apps

Dollhouse apps

Problem solving

Tamagotchi apps

apps Charecter creation Mathematics apps

These are physical toys recommended by vårdguided.se (2012) and apps recommended by the parent organization pappasappar.se.

(16)

16

Options today

What are the options on the market today?

Animatronic toys

Tablet accesorys

Animatronic toys have existed for a long time and has been the dream gift for many children. But as many parents know they are often very expensive and seldom live up to their promises. The reason for this is that technology still is relatively expensive. This leaves the toys either lacking in features, getting boring after a week or two, or very expensive. The new “Furby Connect” is an example of the latter. It costs 100 dollar in the US. They are often marketed for children 4 years and up even though they mostly have simple cause and effect features. This may be to merit the high cost as most parents know younger children get bored with toys faster. (hasbro.com/en-us/ brands/furby)

There are several tablet accessory today and many of them are quite good. Such as “Magik bee”, “Osmo” and “Play doh Touch” . They are often developed to be fun creative toys that challenge the children with different puzzles and games. Many of them are quite expensive at around 80 dollars. The tricky thing to work around seems to be how to input the “real-world data”. The Osmo uses a special mirror that clamps on to the camera together with specially marked blocks that the camera can recognize. Even though these tablet accessory are in general a lot better than the animatronic toys one issue they do not solve is the disconnect to the real world. Even if the input is physical the action happens inside the screen,

something that may be problematic when it comes to learning. (Barr & Hayne, 1999; Schmitt & Anderson 2002) & (Troseth & DeLoache, 1998).

Furby connect

Teksta Robotic Puppy

Play-doh touch Magik bee

(17)

17

Osmo

Options from the past

How did parents deal with buying time back in

the days before modern tech?

Being able to get some time off as a parent is not a new need. Parents of

all ages have used different tricks, tools and methods to buy some time.

Many of them are seen as controversial or even amoral today.

One that has been very popular is the so called playpen. It is a cage, often with a soft floor that the toddler is placed into together with a couple of toys. Several studies have shown the negative effects on development of restrictions in floor freedom through use of playpens and other infant-care equipment (Ainsworth & Bell, 1974; Wachs, 1979). Children learn from the world they observe and restricting that world hampers cognitive development. Before playpen appeared in the early 1900s there were even more controversial methods. One well known

such trick is to soak a rag in sugar and alcohol and let the child suck on it until they fall asleep. Something that we frown upon today but was widely used back then.

(18)

18 What is important in the research and how may

that effect the project moving forward?

Summary & Conclusions

Children at the age of 1-3 go trough very rapid changes. From 10-24 months big steps are made in both fine and gross motor skills. To some extent this motor development drives the cognitive development forward. At around 2 years the child develops the ability to engage in “pretend play”. Meaning they are capable of using abstract thinking and their imagination to create new narratives. All games up until this point are basically testing, repeating and tying to understand.

The child

The parent

The intended consumer for this product is 25-35 years old and part of the “millennial” generation. Most of them try to be equal in their relationships with the father sharing the parenting responsibilities. They are very concerned with brand values and care for the environment. It is even more important then pricing. They are more laid back and relaxed in their parenting style than the generation before them. At the same time they are also more anxious of doing things the wrong way and being seen as unaware or un-modern by other parents.

The context

Children are very time-consuming and do not understand that parents cannot always focus on them. Parents have always had methods to distract children and buy themselves some time. Many of theses methods are today seen as controversial and goes against the millennial parents values. Today the solution to distracting your child is the smartphone and tablet, and they are great at it. These breaks range from 5 to 45 minutes depending on the child and the situation. Many parents feel bad for using the phone and tablet so much but feel they have no option. It is also not fun having to take the phone from your child is this can lead to tantrums and crying.

The options

(19)

19

My take:

The problem

The screen itself is not dangerous to children but it has it’s problems. All things are good in moderation but as there are no good options for distracting your child they get used very much. This can lead to delayed motor skills which in turn can delay cognitive skills. Children also have trouble sleeping from the all the bright light before bedtime. Then there are all the problems for the parent, such as screens breaking or toddlers buying in-games items for lots of money.

-Shuts out the parent -Often passive -Sedentary -Lacks tactility

-Hard to relate to the real world

-Can break and costs a lot -Can show inappropriate things -Bad for the development of eyesight (allaboutvision.com 2016)

Positives and negatives with the

phone & tablet

+Scales for all ages +Appreciated by the child +Inexpensive

+Educational +Easy to bring +Easy to use +Adaptable

The biggest problem seems to be the lack of motor skill practice and the lack of tactile feedback. It is important to practice skills like pushing and pinching as they are very useful skills to have. But it is maybe even more concerning that there is no feedback to help the child understand the object on the screen. They have no way of knowing what texture an object has if they all feel like glass or if an object is light or heavy, hot or cold. Since children aged 1-2 are unable to do any kind of reasoning and older children struggling with it, it is important to help them build their mental library. If they could feel that the cat on the screen was fluffy that would

be one step closer to understanding the world around them.

It will also be important to treat both the parents and the children as a target group. Many of the toys out there are directed toward either one or the other. For this product to be a success it needs to do it’s job well, be fun, and encourage healthy development in the child. But in order for any of that to matter it need to be bought by the parent in the first place and considering how picky they are with their purchases that might not be very easy.

(20)

20

Workshops

The aim was to generate ideas on how to achieve new experiences and alternative ways to interact with a toy. The 6-3-5 method is based on participants triggering ideas within each other and creating small, one or two sentence concepts on every question. Participants were asked to answer five questions related to both the child and the parent.

-How to capture the child’s attention?

-How the item and the child would interact with each other? -How to encourage movement?

-How to involve the parent?

-How to adapt the item to the child’s development?

Howl studio Malmö

Considering the nature of the product the

(21)

21

(22)

22

Initial concepts

Based on the ideation, what possible

ways are there to achieve these

experiences?

1. Capacitive

blocks

Using capacitive surfaces to trick the tablet into thinking blocks are fingers. The tablet has a custom app installed so it can recognize a unique pattern on the underside of the block. These blocks could be of any shape to fit the intended use.

(23)

23

2. Phone-powered

3. External

input board

Using the phone as the brain and senses for an interactive toy. An app sets the phone in a special “toy mode”. Creating something in-between a phone case and an interactive toy. Leaving an opening in the shell gives the toy both a face and free sight for the front facing camera allowing for face to face interaction with the child. The shells could be exchanged depending on what game the child wants to play.

(24)

(25)

25

Scenarios

What are to potential scenarios in

which a future product could be

needed?

(26)

(27)

27

Making dinner together with your children can be fun for both parents and children, but not every dinner. Maybe the kids aren’t in mood to be helpful or maybe there are too many potential dangers, with boiling pots and sharp knives. And sometimes there just isn’t time. Most of the time cooking doesn’t require full attention, so the parent can keep tabs on the kids. In between dicing onions and frying hot dogs, the parent can look and comment on what the child is doing which often is what the child wants. In this scenario, there is a one-year-old girl and a three-year-old boy. The one year old will not yet have developed the ability to engage in “pretend play” and will most likely want to play with simple cause-and-effect toys. One-year-olds can get bored very quickly and constant stimuli is needed to keep their attention.

The tree-year-old has a much more creative mind, and needs more challenging stimuli. At three most children are interested in exploring the world around them, going on explorations and adventures. It is also interesting to learn different fact about for example pirates or dinosaurs.

Cooking dinner

One parent at home cooking with a both a one,

and three-year-old.

The parent wants:

The 1 yo wants:

The 3 yo wants:

To focus on cooking.

To not have to worry about children.

To read a recipe.

To play with hands.

Instantaneous response.

Constant stimuli.

Repetition.

Adventures.

A challenge.

To run around.

(28)

(29)

29

With the rise of flexible jobs more and more people in the future are predicted to work from home. Often this is welcomed by parents who cannot always be at the workplace. But working from home with a toddler in the house can be challenging. Here the mother is required to get some work done and this will require her full attention. She does not want to be disturbed and needs peace and quiet.

Her two-year-old girl has over the past months started playing make-believe games with made up characters and symbolic use of objects. She is capable of entertaining herself for some time with her newly acquired imagination and makes up small narratives around things she encounters. But playing alone can get lonely and often the parent is asked to join. The parent can be handed a role to play or is simple briefed on the game and all its characters.

Working home

One parent at home working with a two-year-old

daughter.

The parent wants:

The child wants:

Peace and quiet.

Not to be interrupted.

To not have to worry about child.

To practice skills like talking.

To explore and discover.

To create simple narratives.

To use imagination.

(30)

(31)

31

Bringing you kid to the café or restaurant is always a little bit cumbersome. Often one of the parents helps the child eat while the other parent eats his/her food or waits for the child to finish. Then the parents start eating but the child wants to play. It is sometimes hard for both the parents and the other guests to have a nice relaxing time eating.

In this scenario, a couple has brought their one-and-a-half-year-old son to a café and are eating lunch. There are other people both eating and working at the café and the couple doesn’t want to be of any trouble to them. Their son enjoys using his hands to pick up and play around with things at the table. In the last six months, he has made great progress in his ability to use his fingers and now wants to play with everything within his reach. He inspects things and organizes them in different ways. Moving peas from the plate to the table and then back again. This is not appreciated be the parents as he is making a mess which leads crying.

Eating out

A couple eating lunch at a café with their

one-and-a-half-year-old child.

The parent wants:

The child wants:

Peace and quiet.

Not to disturb others.

To be able to eat own food.

To be able to talk to partner.

To show other people they

are modern, aware parents.

To play with hands.

To move and organise things.

Instantaneous response.

Constant stimuli

(32)

32

Picking a concept

After talking to both experts and parents about the

ideas two favourites appeared, capacitive blocks and

the phone-powered toy. These two concepts were

further developed into Touchblocks and Interactimals.

In the end Intiractimals was chosen to move forward

with.

Touchblocks

The rather novel concept of tricking the tablet

that blocks are fingers turned out to have a lot

more depth then first anticipated. The variety

of possible games made it almost too big as a

concept to work with.

For children younger than two the games would primarily focus on cause and effect with some simple puzzle

elements. This could for example be specific blocks having different animated on-screen counterparts. Like a fish shaped block having an animated colourful fish displayed around it when on the tablet. It could make swimming movements and make bubbles if dragged around the screen. For older children the games could introduce some challenge like matching blocks in geometric shapes to pictures on the screen. They could also incorporate some association to the outside world by having to match the blocks after the texture of known objects, like putting the furry block on the picture of a cat. Having a digital display also allows for games were the child has to move the blocks in real time. Another possibility is to have the blocks be interactive by having pushable buttons or switches on them. This would not require any tech in the blocks as

(33)

33 The reasoning for not picking the external input board is that it had several drawbacks

but no real benefit over Touchblocks. The primary function of training fine motor skills

is also present in touchblocks and the cost of mechanical sliders and new modules

would be quite high. Ben Kenward who does research on digital media perception for

toddlers also suggested that the disconnect from the screen might cause frustration in

toddlers used to touch based interaction.

Interactimals

Similar toy to Interactimals have been tried

many times before. But in those cases the tech

has been built into the toy, bringing up cost

and bringing down functionality and possible

features.

Just like Touchblocks this concept would be easy to upgrade as the child grows up. All it takes is an app on the parents phone and a new shell. As most of the screen is covered up a majority of the interaction between the toy and the child would be through other means, like movement, sound and what the camera can see. The toy could be made to have physical buttons that fake touch with capacitive materials this would bring some tactility and practice motor skills. For one-year-olds the features would be cause and effect-type games and repetition but as the child progresses the games would be more challenging. The toys small size allows the child to carry it with them. This allows for games like treasure hunts and adventures. Similar to hide and seek but for things instead of people. As the phone is connected to the internet the toy would have a seemingly big knowledge about the world as it can check information. It could then use this knowledge to

(34)

34

Feature development

The good ideas that came out of the brainstorming as well as

(35)

35 After picking out the things that seam interesting

they were reorganized after concepts and

(36)

36

Usable hardware

What Hardware does the phone posses that

can be used for different features?

The amount and variety of sensors in smartphones today allows them to have a very good understanding of their surroundings. Many of these sensors also have a lot wider range of uses than one might first think of when combined together and with the use of clever code. For example the “magnetometer”

made for the compass feature, can be programmed to detect metals behind walls. The combination of the camera and pre-coded messages can be used as real world links in the form of QR. The camera combined with smart “computer-vision-code” in general is a world of possibilities.

The output of a smartphone is more limited than the input. This is because it is made to communicate with humans and we can not sense all of the things the phone can. They consists of the vibration motor, display and speakers but with the you can do many things. For example using semi transparent materials for the

shell and the display different body-parts of the creature could be made to glow. Combining sounds with vibrations could enhance the sense of realness in for example a burp.

Input possibilities

(37)

37 Vibration engine

Accelerameter

Gps

Magnetometer

Gyroscope

NFC

Speaker

IR sensor

Receiver

Front facing camera

Proximity sensor

Ambient light sensor

Touch screen/display

Computer

Battery

(38)

38

Usable software

Google experiments - A.I Duet

What smart code is available at the moment

that could be used or inspire features in the toy?

This experiment lets you play a duet with the computer. Just play some notes, and the computer will respond to your melody. You don’t even have to know how to play piano—it’s fun to just press some keys and listen to what comes back. You can click the keyboard, use your computer keys, or even plug in a MIDI keyboard. It’s just one example of how machine learning can inspire

people to be creative in new ways.

(39)

39 Image recognitions using neural networks

Face tracking and maping

Google’s Search by image is a feature that utilizes reverse image search and allows users to search for related images just by uploading an image or image URL. Google accomplishes this by analysing the submitted picture and constructing a mathematical model of it using advanced algorithms. It is then

compared with billions of other images in Google’s databases before returning matching and similar results as well a guess of what the image is portraying. It should be noted that when available, Google also uses metadata about the image such as description and name.

(40)

40

Features

1

2 Mimic sounds & words

Mimic faces

Feedback on

button-pushes

Feedback on

tilt/acceleration

Mimicking the mothers face is one of the first forms of communication the child learns. (babycenter.com) This game is both fun and practices interaction.

Similar to faces the ability to mimic sounds develops very early on. Practicing these first basic sounds and babbles becomes the foundation for the development of language.

Using buttons practices fine motor skills but to practise gross motor skills we need to use bigger muscle groups. One way to do that is to use the entire phone. By giving a response to tilting the phone the child is encouraged to use wrists and arms.

(41)

41

2

3 Practice words

with pictures

Building on

existing features

Treasure hunt

Co-operative

_{humming/singing}

Not only are they able to create their own fictional narratives, they also seek creative outlet in other forms, such as music. Getting feedback is still important to motivate play and having the toy chip in and build on what the child hums is a fun way to achieve that. It is also good for the child to practice taking turns in games.

From 18 to 30 months the average child increases it’s vocabulary by 800 words. From simple every day things to farm animals and vehicles. By having the pictures be digital they could be followed up by additional facts, like- the cow goes MooOOoo. Just because the child develops new abilities

old games don’t become instantly obsolete. Games from 1-2 can still be fun and engaging for a 2-3 year-old and by having these different reactions the toy seams more alive and responsive.

(42)

42

Aesthetics

What dictates the physical shape/colour of the

toy and the animated face?

The over all proportions are set by the shape of the phone. Tying to keep the toy small is preferred in order to make is easy to handle for the child, yet it needs to cover a modern smartphone with enough thickness to protect it from damage. With the over all design the priority was to make it simple. Both because a toddlers vision is based on recognizing contours/silhouette and to make it easy to clean. There should be no nooks and cranys for dirt to get caught in.

For the child to be able to read the expression on the toys face it needs to have a clear mouth and eyes. A nose is useful to indicate which way the toy is looking but does not show much emotion. Wanting to not have too much focus on the screen part of the toy the hole for the face is kept quite small. Just enough to show the intended emotion

and to not cover up the front facing camera. The rest of the design is based on what the intender consumer group finds attractive. It need to be both cute and some what stylish to convince the millennial parent it is a good buy.

The colour scheme is meant to be trendy and is expected to change as fashion moves forward. For this project the colours are based on what WGSN predicts will be trendy in the baby/toddler segment for 2018 mixed with my own taste.

(43)

(44)

44

Shell development

(45)

45

The monkey and the rabbit were good neutral choices to show the concept. Other animals were maybe more exciting but the focus was supposed to be on the idea and the concept. The monkey was given an extra screen to cater to the games intended for 2-3 year old children. . The rest of the form development took place in Fusion 360. The overall proportions were tweaked and made more childproof by making sure arms and ears were thick

(46)

46

Face development

Designing the animated faces for Bub! and Popo! was a balancing act,

finding the best compromise between sever contradicting factors. They

need to grab the child’s attention but at the same time not be too exciting

to look as the whole point of the project is to get away from toddlers

passively watching screens. It also needs to look attractive to the parent for

them to buy the toy in the first place.

According to Anna the parts of the face that tell emotion are the mouth, eyes and eyebrows. This is a known fact and is used in many forms of animation, for example manga were most characters don’t even have a nose. A nose can still be useful for other things like showing direction as it looks distinctly different from different angles. A toddlers vision is very dependant on contrast so the important features like eyes and mouth needed to be on contrasting to the background. The background colour of the face is already decided as part of the phone will be visible at the top of the face-hole. Having a different colour face to the front of the phone would create a distracting bar across the forehead. This bar is also the reason there are no eyebrows. In order for eyebrows to fit the eyes would be too small and they were higher priority than the brows as the brows are mostly for showing emotions like scepticism and anger, something the toy wouldn’t do.

(47)

47 The final faces were made in Illustrator as it gives great control over

details. As the faces would be turned into animation it is also good to have

them as vector files.

At a tutoring sission Eva-Lena mentioned that the face on Bub! might be too unlike a human face in the proportions. The initial thinking was to make the face as small as possible to not draw too much off the attention to the screen. But after double-checking the literature it did say that “Children focus on the contours of the face first, then after about eight weeks the focus moves over

(48)

48

Result

The end result of this project is an app and two different shells to

(49)

(50)

50

Bub!

Bub! is intended for children 10 - 24

months old. It has 3 press-able buttons, the

belly and the two feet. It also has two ears

for pinching and biting on.

(51)

(52)

(53)

(54)

54

Popo!

Popo! is intended for children for 2 - 4

year-old children. It maintains the features

from Bub! with the exception of the button

on the belly which has been exchanged

for a second screen. This screen is used by

Popo! to visualize objects he is referring to.

These objects are used in different games.

(55)

(56)

(57)

(58)

58

Materials

What materials are best, keeping both usability,

cost and safety in mind?

The buttons

Touchscreens have a small current applied to their surface. When a finger

touches the screen the current jumps and small sensors in the screen pick

up the change in charge. For the pushable parts to be registered by the

screen they need to be constructed of a material that transfers electricity.

This could be a metal or an other material lined with metal wires. There is

also the ability to use a so called “Capacitive polymer”.

For this product a capacitive polymer is by far the best choice. It could be made to match the colour of the shell and therefore blend in with the overall design. It also has a proven track record in capacitive touch pens. Conductive silicone rubber is a combination of silicone and carbon, and would be a great choice as it is non-reactive and chemically safe for children to use. As it is soft it

also guarantees a good contact against the screen when pressed, something that can be tricky with metal.

(59)

59

The shell

The most recommended plastic when it comes to products meant for toddlers is silicone as it is non-reactive reactive and does not require added softeners. There are two big drawbacks with silicone, it is both heavy and rather expensive. The cost factor is not a major problem since the intended user group is very aware if their purchases and is not afraid to pay if they know it’s for a good product. Since the toy already contains a phone the weight might be too much with the solid silicone. One way to combat this could be to foam the silicone. This would reduce both the

weight and material cost.

An other option could also be to use a medical grade TPE, like Hexapols Mediprene. The production methods are the same as with a normal TPE, the difference is in the materials used like medical grade softeners. The price of mediprene is about 6-8 euro/Kg.

Plastics and small children is a very sensitive topic. Taking the consumer

group in mind, being able to guarantee that there are no health concerns

what so ever is of highest priority. The biggest health problems comes with

the softeners. Keeping track of what softener is used or avoiding them

completely is key in guaranteeing a safe product.

(60)

60

Construction

The entire shell is one piece with the exception

of the buttons which need to be a different

material.

For the capacitive screen to be able to detect the touch input there needs to be a critical mass of capacitive material. What that exact mass is seems to vary from phone to phone. The size of the capacitive rubber in the shell is based on stylus pens for

(61)

61

The app

The hub for all the Interactimal toys will be in the app on

the parents phone. This app also acts as the communication

channel to reach the parent with new updates and available

shells.

The app is very simple. It is meant to be used a lot but very briefly, so navigating to the right Interactimal must be fast and easy. In the settings the parent can add things like what phone model they have to match the face colour and a redirect-number to a partner or work phone if someone was to call. If you don’t add one the toy will call out for mom/dad when someone calls to not

break the immersion for the child. After selecting a character some information about available games is shown. Here the parent can read about what games that specific interactimal can play or just go strait to start. Pressing start puts the phone into “toy-mode” and the parent can put it into the shell.

(62)

(63)

(64)

(65)

(66)

66

Sources

Litteratur

Experts

Online sources

Barn- och ungdomspsykologi by Oddbjörn Evenshaug & Dag Hallen Chapter 3-9+13

Child Development by Laura E. Berk Chapters 1-4 Karen Adolph (2005, 2008; Adolph & Berger, 2006)

Victor Johansson - Objects and Interactions Howl studio Malmö

Anna Olausson - Institute of applied educational science, lecturer Moa Markström - Parent of two children, 1 & 3 years old

Ben Kenward - Oxford University, researcher and lecturer in perception in small children

(67)