Tellybear Remote control for young children

Overview  Problem definition  Target group  Existing work  Design process  Prototype  User study  Observations  Findings  Discussion  Future work  Conclusion

Problem definition Design a television remote control for three and four- year-old children that will be understandable easy and fun to operate

Three and four-year-old children  Watch tv: approximately 2.5 hours each day  Imaginative play: stuffed animals  Mental mapping  Exploring  Independency  Emotional comforting

Existing work  Microsoft Actimates – Plush and cuddly interactive toys – Antropomorphic interface – Affective design  Weemote – Remote control for children – Simplicity – Independency – Parental control

Design process  Brainstorming  Gathering insight information: – Toy Store – Kindergarten – Interview with expert  Prototype  User study: – Co-discovery + coaching method

Design considerations  Control – Channel surfing – Volume adjustment – Favorite channel selection – DVD player – Stand-by (function)  Parental preselection of channels

Prototype

Prototype design  Phidgets & Macromedia Director  Wizard of Oz On/off Volume up/down Channel Preset 1 Channel Preset 2 DVD play/pause Zap up/down Ch. 1 Ch. 2Ch. 3Ch. nCh. 10

User study  Co-discovery + coaching method: – 2 children per session with coaching of the groupleader  8 kids: 7 girls and 1 boy  Observation and filming  Questions e.g. "Do you like this bear?"

Movie

Observations  Observed actions: – pressing buttons – squeezing – turning buttons – touching and hugging the bear  Facial expressions: – Smiling – Frowning

Findings  Difficulty with: – changing the channels with the arms – changing the volume  Positive aspects: – Buttons on the belly were easily understood – The children enjoy exploring and playing with the bear – Much more fun than traditional remote control – Independency

Discussion  Interview parents and observe natural television behaviour of children  Only girls? What about the boys?  Learning curve

Future work  Redesign the Tellybear – turning knobs or pressing buttons instead of interaction with the ears and the arms of the Tellybear  More user studies – Sessions each day during a certain period of time – Longer sessions? – Study difference in characteristics: age, gender, interest

Conclusion  The kids liked the Tellybear more than the traditional remote control  Interaction style with the arms and the ears was not intuitive  The Tellybear was fun to use  More extensive study is needed

Thank you for listening! (No) questions?