Curlybot : designing a new class of computational toys
Name
47934442-MIT.pdf
Description
Full printable version
Size
9.02 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
057c611c092be1e0ca4b68fbaa245bc7
Author(s)
Frei, Philipp A. (Philipp Andres), 1975-
Advisor(s)
Hiroshi Ishii.
Alternative Title
Designing a new class of computational toys
Date Issued
2000
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Abstract
I introduce an educational toy, called curlybot, as the basis for a new class of toys aimed at children in their early stages of development - ages four and up. curlybot is an autonomous two-wheeled vehicle with embedded electronics that can records how it has been moved on any flat surface and then plays back that motion accurately and repeatedly. Children can use curlybot to gain a strong intuition for advanced mathematical and computational concepts, like differential geometry, through play outside a traditional computer. Preliminary studies show that children can create gestures quickly, allowing them to iterate on the patterns that emerge, and successfully understanding and solving problems with curlybot. Programming by demonstration in this context makes the educational ideas implicit in the design of curlybot accessible to young children. curlybot can also act as an expressive tool because of its ability to remember the intricacies of the original gestures: every pause, acceleration, and even the shaking in the hand is recorded and played.
Description
Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Program in Media Arts and Sciences, 2000.
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 81-83).
Subjects
Architecture. Program In Media Arts and Sciences.
MIT Department
Program in Media Arts and Sciences (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
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