Characteristics of young children's utilization of a robot during play time : A case study

Abstract

This is a case study of the behavior that was observed when young children were given free access to Intelligent Service Robot iRobiQ during their free play time at kindergarten. The investigator conducted a 30-min observation of one class of three-year-olds and one of four-year-olds during their free play time both in the morning and in the afternoon, twice a week, from December 2008 to February 2009. In addition to videotaping the subjects at play, written notes were also recorded of various ways the children utilized the robot and its features. The characteristics studied included the preparation process before a robot was introduced, physical factors (time, distance, and posture) related to the children's utilization of the robot, their reactions to the robot's stimuli (direct stimuli, appearance, built-in contents, and functional error messages), the social relationships among student peers and with their teachers, and the influence of age and gender upon frequency of utilization.