Toy user interface design—Tools for Child–Computer Interaction

Abstract

A Toy User Interface (ToyUI) is a setup combination of one or more toy components with other hardware or software components. As part of new technologies that permeate the Child–Computer Interaction (CCI) domain, a ToyUI can combine physical toy components with social robots, smartphones, tablets, game consoles, among other computing artifacts. This paper compiles a collection of design tools that we develop to support interdisciplinary creators in prototyping innovative ToyUI setups. The design tools aim to help the CCI community understand the benefits of hardware and software integration while delivering solutions that can meet privacy by design principles. We apply the Design Science framework to assess the problem context and propose and evaluate the design tools following a Human-Centered Design (HCD) perspective. The tools cover steps from inspiration to ideation and implementation, including user research, brainstorming, data collection planning, and low to high-fidelity prototyping tools. We detail the current version of the design tools and six years of results through qualitative evaluation in an educational setting (with 255 creators in seven different institutions). We also propose novel versions of the tools to support remote teamwork and education, and we highlight training challenges during the social distancing context.