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MalleablePillow – kneading light
Summary
Play Experience by Assistive Technology for play
Devices, services & contexts for play with children with disabilities
Name of Play Experience by AT
MalleablePillow – kneading light
Type of project
Intervention
Finished research project
Ongoing research project
Summary
(~150 words: target group, aims, kind of activities, Play Experience by AT (devices, services and contexts) used, play experiences and results)
The thought behind MalleablePillow is to explore continuous and co-located couplings tightly connected to the child when using his or her body. The construct is a semi-transparent white fabric that encases groups of LEDs distributed along clusters of glass marbles and noisy packing materials. Each cluster has a microphone that picks up the kneading sounds from the materials. The microphone signal is filtered, pre-amplified and used as an input to an Arduino board. The board controls the LED groups using PWM signals. The effect is that more kneading increases the light intensity of clusters close to where the kneading takes place (Figure 2). If the pillow is treated too roughly it will take on a redder behaviour.
Play Experience by Assistive technology
Low-tech, high-tech products, services and contexts for play
Description, intended use(s), intended target group(s), manufacturer/developer, reference
By various bodily engagements the children have experienced creating sprinklings of light by themselves. They do this by essentially kneading the ephemeral material of light where they touch and according to the amount of touch. With MalleablePillow, the children have explored and especially mused. As the design is quite tight, it has supported a feeling of agency. Yet, it has also aesthetic appeal through its coupling of touch and light. Sometimes, the design also seems to ‘call for attention’ as the microphones pick up distant loud sounds.
Context
The context of use
(home, school, rehab center or other environments)
home, rehab center
Type of Play
Type of play in this play system
LUDI Classification of types of play
Cognitive Dimension
Practice
Symbolic
Constructive
Rule play (including videogames)
Social Dimension
Solitary
Parallel
Associative
Cooperative
Objectives
Objectives related to play according to ICF-CY
International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health - Children & Youth Version (ICF-CY)
Play for the sake of play
Major life areas - d880 engagement in play
d8800 solitary play
d8801 onlooker play
d8802 parallel play
d8803 shared cooperative play
d8808 engagement in play, other specified
d8809 engagement in play, unspecified
Community social and civic life - d920 recreation and leisure time
d9200 play
Play-like activities
Therapeutic and educational objectives
b1 Mental functions
b2 Sensory functions and pain
b3 Voice and speech functions
b4 Functions of cardiovascular, hematological, immunological and respiratory systems
b5 Functions of digestive, metabolic and endocrine systems
b7 Neuromusculoskeletal and movement related functions
d1 Learning and applying knowledge (learning through symbolic play, learning through pretend play)
d2 General tasks and demands
d3 Communication
d4 Mobility
d7 Interpersonal interactions and relationships
Participant
Participant(s)
Number
1-5
5-10
10-20
>20
Chronological Age
0-3 years
3-6 years
6-12 years
12-18 years
Development Age
0-3 years
3-6 years
6-12 years
12-18 years
LUDI Categories of disabilities
Mental/intellectual impairments:
mild
moderate
severe
profound
Hearing impairments
Partially hearing impaired
Deaf
Visual impairments
Partially sighted
Blind
Communication disorders (speech and language disorders)
Physical impairments
Mild
Moderate
Severe
Autism Spectrum Disorders
Multiple disabilities
Explanation
Explanation on the use of low-tech, high-tech devices, services or contexts
Explanation
No instruction, self-discovery of the participant/subject
Verbal instruction, language and communication fitting to chronological age
Verbal instruction, language and communication is adapted
Visual and/or verbal instruction with AAC (Aumentative and Alternative Communication)
Visual instruction with written language
Visual instruction with pictures or drawings
Modeling by therapist/researcher
Hand over hand: therapist/researcher leads the actions of the participant
Prompting: therapist/researcher touches the participant as a key for further actions
Guided discovery: therapist/researcher coaches the participant so s/he discovers how to use the assistive technology
Modeling by peer
Visual instruction by peer
Verbal instruction by peer
Involvement
Adult: therapist/educator/researcher
Parent or significant others
Peer with disabilities
Peer without disabilities
Role
Non-participatory observer
Participatory observer
Providing instruction
After the instruction, providing supervision during play
Evaluation
Evaluation of objectives and outcome measures
Description of outcome measure(s)
Observation by professional/researcher providing the play experience
Observation by other professional/researcher
Video analysis
Feedback from client/parents/professionals
(validated and reliable) outcome measures like tests, self-reports of client/system, questionnaires
Information about availability of outcome measure: publisher, website, contact person
This artefact is a prototype. See references for possible availability!
Achievements
Summary of achieved effects
Motorics, coordination, attention, amusement
References
References to the intervention or research project
Contact Person
Héctor A. Caltenco Certec, Dept. of Design Sciences, LTH P.O Box 118 221 00 Lund, Sweden hector.caltenco@certec.lth.se
Website
http://sid.desiign.org/portfolio/malleablepillow-erfaringer/
Publication
Caltenco, H. A., & Larsen, H. S. (2014). Designing for Engagement: Tangible Interaction in Multisensory Environments. NordiCHI ’14 Proceedings of the 8th Nordic Conference on Human-Computer Interaction: Fun, Fast, Foundational, 1055–1058. http://doi.org/10.1145/2639189.2670274
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