Toys keeping in touch: technologies for distance play

Collaborative pretend play is significant in the emotional and social development of young children yet traditional remote communication systems do not support this type of interaction. This paper introduces a remote communication system designed to facilitate imaginative play using the novel approach of a tangible interface specifically for character toys. A dollhouse enhanced with tangible electronic objects that allow the toy inhabitants of the house to communicate with the inhabitants of a remote dollhouse was constructed and evaluated in a pilot study. Author Keywords Children, remote play, storytelling, tangible interfaces, user interfaces for toys. ACM Classification Keywords H.5.2 User Interfaces. General Terms Design, Human Factors

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2010
• Where: TEI
• Authors: Natalie Freed
• Keywords: Hardware, Remote Communication, Tangible Interfaces, TEI 2010, User Interfaces