Co-designing deformable organic user interfaces for early learning

Maker Junior使用“制造者”启发的项目，通过将传统的艺术和手工艺材料与电子元件和替代导电材料相结合，帮助孩子们学习技术。Maker Junior正在研究新的策略，通过探索新颖的传感器，电路类型和材料，让孩子们在年幼时就可以使用技术进行创作，这是一系列三维玩具，孩子们可以作为工作坊的一部分，但也可以带回家进行进一步的开发。研究的问题在于探索一种新的互动风格，并涉及儿童的原型设计过程中，以及开发这种技术被儿童使用的背景。 在人机交互领域的基础上，我们的研究挑战是探索设计一个有机的用户界面，一个新的界面，使用非平面显示器，如柔性显示器，作为一个教育玩具。我们将探索弯曲和变形作为儿童电路中的新颖输入。基于申请人对变形的研究，我们将与儿童共同设计并开发较低和较高保真度的原型，我们将通过与学龄前儿童进行用户研究来进行经验评估。创建变形是一个独特的启示，当活动的一部分，包括电路建设。与传统的在iPad等触摸屏界面上使用应用程序进行活动相比，可变形界面提供了与技术的触觉交互，其中反馈是有形的，体验性的和物理的。可弯曲的接口提供了 在这一领域的技术人机交互研究的巨大机会，由于设计的机会与儿童的想法，以及设计的独特环境的参与和发挥这种技术。该项目预计将提供基于使用OUI的硬件原型，作为学龄前儿童学习活动的一部分，以及对原型的评估和进一步开发的建议。Maker Junior希望这些对他们的车间产品开发和HCI社区产生影响。

Maker Junior uses "maker" inspired projects to help kids learn about technology by combining traditional arts and crafts materials with electronic components and alternative conductive materials. Maker Junior is investigating new strategies for introducing children to creating with technology at a young age, by exploring novel sensors, types of circuits, and materials, a series of three dimensional toys that children can work on as part of a workshop, but are also available to taken home for further development. The research problem resides in the exploration of a novel interaction style, and involving children in the prototyping process, as well as developing contexts for this technology to be used by children. Grounded in the field of human computer interaction, our research challenge is to explore designing an organic user interface-a new interface using non-planar displays, such as flexible displays-as an educational toy. We will explore bending and deformation as novel inputs in circuits for kids. Building upon the applicant's research on deformation, we will co-design with children and develop lower and higher fidelity prototypes which we will empirically evaluate by conducting user studies with preschoolers. Creating deformations is a unique affordance when part of an activity that includes circuit building. In contrast to the traditional use of apps on touch screen interfaces such as iPads for activities, a deformable interface offers a tactile interaction with the technology where the feedback is tangible, experiential and physical. A bendable interface offers a huge opportunity for technical HCI research in this area due to the opportunities for designing with children in mind, as well as for designing for unique contexts of engagement and play with this technology. This project is expected to deliver hardware prototypes based around the use of OUIs as part of learning activities for preschoolers, as well as an evaluation of the prototypes and recommendations for further development. Maker Junior expects these to have an impact on their workshop product development and on the HCI community.