Scenario Questionnaire

The following personas will be placed into the group scenario

Serena Sondhi
Ben Manvir
Jason Powers
Tom Green

Did you think Miss Dawson looked like a robot?

Serena -> Yes – I have seen many robots in my father’s films
Ben -> No - Shouldn’t robots have metal bodies and lots of wires?
Jason -> Wasn’t sure – As it sort of moved like a robot
Tom -> No – As I didn’t get close to Miss Dawson due to my wheel chair


Did Miss Dawson frighten you?

Serena -> Was slightly frightened - Miss Dawson’s skin was cold
Ben -> Yes - When I was told by the teacher that Miss Dawson was a robot, I thought how could it have skin?
Jason -> Yes - I was slightly scared because of the way Miss Dawson moved
Tom -> No – I did not have much time to interact with Miss Dawson

Could you understand Miss Dawson?

Serena -> No - As Miss Dawson only could say a few words when we were playing rounders.
Ben -> Yes - her voice was very clear and spoke like a robot Katie on miniclips.com when I was close to her
Jason -> Yes - she spoke very nicely
Tom -> No - when I was a few meters away was unable to hear Miss Dawson


Did Miss Dawson understand you?

Serena -> Only when I said simple thing like “hello” and during the rounders game
Ben -> Not when I shouted for the ball, she only understood when I were close to her
Jason -> When I asked Miss Dawson about what football team she supported she didn’t understand
Tom -> Didn’t get much of a chance to speak to Miss Dawson


Who did you prefer, Miss Dawson or the teachers?

Serena -> The teachers - As Miss Dawson was just a robot in a human body
Ben -> Miss Dawson - because she does not understand anything I say!
Jason -> The teacher - As everybody was around Miss Dawson and when we were playing she could hear what I was saying
Tom -> The teachers - As I received more attention

Do you think Miss Dawson should look more like a robot?

Serena -> No - It may scare me
Ben -> Yes - Like the ones in The Terminator
Jason -> Didn’t matter, as it still is a robot. I’m more concerned about Miss Dawson helping with my studies
Tom -> Yes


Did you find Miss Dawson interesting?

Serena -> No - Didn’t have knowledge about the Egyptians, my favourite topic
Ben -> Yes - first time I have seen a robot in real life. I usually play many games involving robots on the Internet
Jason -> No - Miss Dawson was just a toy and I didn’t take her seriously
Tom -> Yes, I was surprised how realistic Miss Dawson was


Was Miss Dawson able to participate / join in the exercise?

Serena -> Yes - she was very good
Ben -> No - she was too slow at running
Jason -> Made wrong decisions when she was referee
Tom -> She seemed to blend in okay

How do you think Miss Dawson can be improved?

Serena -> Have more knowledge
Ben -> Miss Dawson should be a super robot, which can lift up anything
Jason -> Faster speed and have better hearing
Tom -> Give more attention to children that need it

Bobby Biran Singh
Gaurav Chander

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Scenario Questionnaire

The following personas will be placed into the individual scenario

Serena Sondhi
Ben Manvir
Jason Powers
Tom Green

Teaching Assistant is called Miss Dawson.

- Could you understand Miss Dawson?

Ben Manvir:	No	“She talked too quickly”.
Serena Sondhi:	Yes	“She was a bit slow”.
Tom Green:	Yes	“Most of the time”.
Jason Powers:	No	“She talked weird”.

- Did Miss Dawson understand you?

Ben Manvir:	No	“She didn’t answer my question”.
Serena Sondhi:	Yes
Tom Green:	Yes
Jason Powers:	Yes	“Took a long time to answer my question”.

- Who did you prefer, Miss Dawson or the teacher?

Ben Manvir:	Neither	“I don’t like any of them”.
Serena Sondhi:	Teacher
Tom Green:	Both	“Miss Dawson could help me with other stuff/ reading /playing chess”.
Jason Powers:	Miss Dawson	It would be wicked if she was our teacher

- Did you find Miss Dawson interesting?

Ben Manvir:	No	“A robot should look like a robot”.
Serena Sondhi:	No	(She felt withdrawn from Miss Dawson).
Tom Green:	Yes
Jason Powers:	Yes

- Was Miss Dawson able to participate / join in the exercise?

Ben Manvir:	No	“She was useless”.
Serena Sondhi:	Yes
Tom Green:	Yes	“She picked out my reading mistakes”.
Jason Powers:	Yes	“She helped me with my reading”.

Farhad Bahramy

Matthew Walker

Taiyyib Azam

Testing On Components - Video/Visual Movement

This is a first-person video of the internal camera component within the Robot Teaching Assistant:-



As can be seen, the Robot Teaching Assistant is moving up a set of stairs in the outside environment and recognizing large objects.

The second first-person video shows the teaching assistant tilting its head/view in a vertical direction, showing the sophistication of its operational movement:-

Testing On Components - Picture Quality

Here is a picture of a TV series, “Basil Brush” . Whilst the children were watching the TV, Miss Dawson decided to take a few internal camera shots which shows the picture quality.

When the children went out into the garden to play with Miss Dawson, the robot teaching assistant took some pictures of flowers as the kids were doing some plant growing of their own in class as can be seen in the picture.

Testing On Components - Voice / Understanding

We made our persona interact with the teaching assistant, in our co-operative evaluation the children talked with it and the teaching assistant replied.



Here is a downloadable sound file of what was heard: -

Responses from the Robot Teaching Assistant - "I am unable to play the violin"

Testing On Components

We split the body parts up and allowed them to work independent to see if it would be able to handle tasks; the personas got involved and found it a fun and interesting experience. From our requirement we were able to test for the key areas specified. The hand was able to throw a ball in the air and catch it. The hand component was also able to hold the children’s hand with a gentle squeeze. The legs were able to adapt to the children’s pace, on some tests it outran the children.

Here are some of the tests that we ran: - (Some will be documented in the next posts)

Picture of:

- Picture quality
- Video quality
- Feedback from internet
- Color image
- Sensing heat

Video:

- Video quality
- Walking

Prototyping Design

The group met today to finalize the prototype for our teaching assistant. From analyzing our persona's and scenarios, we formulated our design for the Teaching Assistant: -

Please click on the image for a full sized screenshot

We primarily focused our efforts on 7 key areas, such as Emotions, Height, Movement, Sensors, Speed, Looks/Appearance and Network: -

In terms of Sensors, we analyzed different areas such as vision, touch and hearing. : -

Emotions: -

Movement: -

Network, the Teaching Assistant will have an in-built wireless fidelity card which allows the robot to access local educational network and emergency services: -

As already been stated the teaching assistant will adopt a female look.

Speed - It was important to consider the relative speed the robot will have compared to children. It should be possible that the Robot matches the same motorized speed as that of the walking speed of a child.: -

Other - In this section we detailed any extra functionality of the Teaching Assistant: -

In terms of the Teaching Assistant being waterproof, the robot will have a waterproof fabric laminated onto its 'skin', thereby reducing the risk water may have on the robot.

Furthermore, from this prototyping session, we will be able to draw conceptual designs of the robot.

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Case Study: Waseda Talker No.6

Speech is a very important factor taking into account the environment, the teaching
assistant must be able to express itself in a clear and appropriate manner. The language used must be simplified in order for the children to understand what the teaching assistant is saying. There are a number of robots that offer this functionality, for example, the Waseda Talker No.6 consists of lungs, vocal cords, a tongue, lips and other components to offer speech. The robot can adjust is pitch taking into account the situation, for example, can whisper and shout.

This technology can be incorporated into the teaching assistant to deliver the speech
functionality.



Source

HCI Theory & Practice - Prototyping

At this stage of the project, we will now analyse “prototyping” and its practicality in our user-centered design project.


Image Reference: (Beale et al, Human-Computer Interaction, 2004) Figure 5.14

Please click above for a larger screenshot

In our last meeting, Russell discussed with us the purpose of the prototype in the overall design of the project. On the Human Computer Interaction module homepage, there is an interesting report which analyses the role prototyping has in developing systems: -

“Prototyping is increasingly used as a vehicle for developing and demonstrating visions of innovative systems.”
(Baumer et al. 1996)

We feel this quote really reflects the aim of the concept of prototyping. When analysing prototyping in the context of User-Centered Design, it really provides the opportunity for designers to use the accumulation of knowledge derived from analysing persona's and scenarios, hence, prototyping is a key component in the User-Centered Design.

However, there are pitfalls to prototyping, as the method very much follows a hill-climbing approach. If our initial prototype design concept is bad, after refinement, we may end up with a final design that is simply a more cleaned up version of the initial prototype design. Therefore it is important that after the prototype design, we evaluate our findings against our persona's, using techniques such as scenario questionnaires and a further critical appraisal based around the results of our findings.

It is important that any issues raised during the evaluation of our initial prototype will help us in understanding what is wrong and how we can improve the prototype from this starting point. Only then we can avoid a situation described earlier regarding the problem with the high climbing approach in prototyping.

Creative Design - Final

This is our creative design. After putting our initial requirements together, derived from the personas, we came up with Miss Dawson.

Please click below for a larger screenshot: -

Case Study: HRP-2

Hearing is another important factor for the teaching assistant, which is further complicated taking into account children voices and possibly a noisy environment.

Research has found a Japanese robot called HRP-2 that can understand human speech using a number of microphones placed in the robots head. Furthermore, sophisticated speech recognition software is implemented to offer a high degree of functionality.

This robot demonstrates that the technology for advanced speech recognition is to some degree developed.


Source

Case Study: AUC Robot Camera Head

After research into current robots sensors and camera technology a article was found discussing the AUC robot camera head. Eye movements can be performed at 100 degrees a second with its neck being able to move at 100 degrees a second. In terms of technology this robot is created from standard components, hence, the use of advanced technology can assist in reducing the size of the eyes resulting in the camera being more suitable for the teaching assistant. The speed of movement is a key factor taking into account the environment the teaching assistant will operate in.


Source

Creative Design - Drawing / Mock Up

Before beginning the prototype, we have created a mock-up of the design of our humanoid robot in the creative design stage: -

Female Humanoid Appearance: -

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Case Study: NASA: Touch Sensor for Robots

Whilst researching into sensor technology the NASA robot hands project was discovered. A robot hand has been developed by NASA which is able to derive information about objects it has grasped, for example, its shape.

This technology emphasizes that the teaching assistant could have very sensitive touch capabilities which are required in this environment.

Source

Case Study: Repliee Q1Expo

After research into humanoids Repliee Q1Expo was disocerve, Repliee Q1Expois a female android created by Japanese scientists and is the most human looking android ever to be created. Repliee Q1Expo has flexible silicone for skin and a number of sensors and motors to allow it to turn and react in a human like manner.

This android illustrates that the appearance of a human can be replicated to some degree via a mixture of sensors and silicon skin.



Source:

Scenario - interaction in a group

What is the age group?
The age group based in this scenario is the 5 to 9 age group. The gender of the group is equally balanced. There are 15 children in the group.


Which environment are we in (Inside / Outside / Classroom / Hall)?
Children are currently having a physical education lesson on the lower school playground. The day is currently sunny and the children have bought there water bottles with them.


What is the layout of the environment?


Source: http://www.croydon-p.schools.nsw.edu.au/images/LOGOS/layo2.jpg Date Accessed: 13th February 2007

The children are exercising at the Young Street play area at the right of Block 1. Around the boundary of the play area, there are large oak trees and wooden fences.

The play area is divided in two sections, one being concrete and one being grass. There is also a small sandpit that the children will be using for long jumps.

On the concrete there is a snakes & ladders paint outline and hopscotch area.

How many teachers are there in the area?
On average there are two teachers and two supervisors.

What are they currently learning?
The children are learning how to warm up – stretching and a light jog in preparation for a game of rounders. It is the first time the children have played rounders at school and the first 15 minutes will be used to show the children how to play the game.

What are the children’s attitudes?
The children enjoy the physical education lessons and are enthusiastic about playing rounders. Some children, however, have complained that its too hot.

What’s the time of day?
10:40am, although there was a delay of ten minutes.

What are the current teaching methods?
Involves supervisor demonstrating how to do warm-ups and the children practising in front of the teachers. Before the lesson, a small video is played in class to demonstrate some of the activities the children will be carrying out.

In this scenario how would the robot-teaching assistant interact with the children?


- The teaching assistant can demonstrate how to exercise and the children mimic this in a group

- Offer children help if they are confused about the rules

- During the game of rounders, the teaching assistant will be the referee

- Teaching assistant can participate in the game of rounders



Source: http://world.honda.com/HDTV/ASIMO/New-ASIMO-exercising/
Date Accessed: 13th February 2007


Source: http://world.honda.com/HDTV/ASIMO/New-ASIMO-exercising/
Date Accessed: 13th February 2007


In this scenario how would the children interact with the teaching assistant?

- Children may well be more interested in the teaching assistant than the physical education lesson itself

- The children may want to be the teaching assistant’s buddy/friend and may surrounded him

- There may well be some children that will be scared of the teaching assistant

Gaurav Chander
Bobby Biran Singh

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Scenarios - interaction with an individual

What is the age group?

Aged 5 to 9


Which environment are we in (Inside / Outside / Classroom / Hall)?

Inside – in classroom a small room near the head’s office where there is a bookcase for which the child chooses a book to read


What is the layout of the environment?

Small room maximum for 4 people with chairs and one desk and a couple of shelves where there are educational books and some posters.


How many teachers are there in the classroom?

1 teacher who listens to the child read


How many children are there?

1 currently reading and 3 listeners


What are they currently learning?

Reading skills and communication skills


The children’s attitudes?

May feel nervous, as they don’t know what to expect


What is the time of day?

After lunch. 2:00PM


What are the current teaching methods (IT)?

Teacher is there to help the child through any difficulties. No use of technology.


In this scenario how would the teaching assistant interact with the children?

- Interact with child by pronouncing difficult words
- Save time by listening to another child
- Act out a certain scene from a book
- More accurate speech would help less fortunate children / learning difficulties
- Help children understand grammar in terms of reading


Based on this, how would the children interact with teaching assistant?

- Would find it interesting
- Learned how to improve speech
- Found it a new fun way to learn
- New friend – someone to talk to about bullying
- Less pressure
- Read of the face where the book is played for the child after he has read, so that he can review

HCI Theory & Practice - Scenarios

I came across an interesting description of the theoretical aspects of a scenario, which is a tool, that can be used to describe stories of interaction between human and computer. In Chapter 5 of Human-Computer Interaction (Beale et al, Human-Computer Interaction, 2004), it describes scenarios as being “rich stories of interaction” and being one of the “most flexible and powerful” design representation tools.

Scenarios can be wide ranging in that some can be very short, describing a small situation and some can be large, describing a situation and environment. They can be essentially used in helping the group see what is required when designing the prototype, see how the children will react to the Robot Teaching Assistant etc. and can be reused at any stage of the project.

I think when understanding scenarios and its practicality in the context of our project, we should really focus on the existing environment in which the children work and play in at school. This way we can see how the robot teaching assistant would react or participate in that particular scenario which can aid in our design & prototyping stage at a later date.

However, we can be critical in that scenarios in that they do not highlight potential alternative paths. For example, interactions involved in the real world involve choices and in scenarios it does not necessarily show these potential alternative paths.

Initial Requirements Derived From The Personas

Here is a list of detailed requirements we derived from analysing the persona's (See Deriving User Requirements) : -

Usability
- The robot must be usable by the target audience it is intended (being asked queries)

- Users must be able to use the robot with minimal supervision

- Tasks must take as little time as possible to receive helpful responses from robot to the user

- Must be able talk to the end user and show facial expressions as a human would do

- One of the key assumptions we make is that AI technology has become so advanced to the point that robots can detect human emotion – This can be through a sensor component

- Offer support and assistance to students who request help

- Must be able to access the local school records for timetabling information through a Wireless Fidelity connection

Efficiency (Performance)
- The Robot must be able to handle different queries by different children simultaneously with minimal delay – in a group environment

- Response times should be minimised as much as possible

- The average time for a response must be less than 5 seconds

- It should also be able to deal with a number of queries during school time

Reliability
- The robot should be available 99% of the time during the time the children are at school.

Legislative
- When the teaching assistant attempts to access information held on the local school database, it must be kept confidential.

- The robot shall confirm to the requirements of the Data Protection Act.

Health and safety issues
- Must comply with Isaac Asimov's three laws (See Deriving User Requirements Post). We assume that AI technology has evolved to the point that Robots can comply with these laws.

- The robot must be waterproof and be immune to accidental spillage

Case Study: MIT Kismet

I found an interesting article from MIT which outlined a facial expressions robotic project. The project involved the development of Kismet, Kismet is able to replicate many of the expressions humans can, for example, express joy.

This can be incorporated into the teaching assistant as facial expressions is an important
element.

Surprise Expression

Joy Expression

Calm Expression

Source

Deriving the requirements from the personas

After analysing the information we gathered from our persona's we were able to generate the requirements for our Robot Teaching Assistant.

Analysis:

It should be able to allow Serena, who has minimal technology exposure, to interact with the Robot Teaching Assistant with least supervision as possible. Serena only uses her computer with her parents so her reaction to the robot may well be a new experience.

Jason and Ben are technology aware, so reliability must be considered as a key requirement, since these users are already quite advanced with technology, they would not want the teaching assistant to have slow responses.

We can argue that Tom falls between both these groups. He has basic computing experience and has some exposure with technology as he enjoys gadgets. He may find it awkward to interact with the Robot Teaching Assistant as he has basic skills within technology disciplines.

Ben’s use of social networks and instant messaging, for instance, MSN Messenger, has resulted in Ben being impatient with technology, which is not very responsive. Furthermore, the need for a responsive teaching assistant is also backed-up by Jason gaming exposure, for example, Jason plays fast paced video games such as FIFA 2007. The responsiveness of the teaching assistant is a critical requirement due to today’s technology centric society. The responsiveness falls into a 2 categories: -

1). Movement
2). Query handling – Group and Individual interaction

Tom is preparing for his SATS (11+) exam and having the teaching assistant available during the break times would offer Tom extra support. The robot must be available at all times during the opening hours to assist with any queries. The role of the teaching assistant is to offer support throughout the day to the actual teacher; hence, the teaching assistant will be available during school hours.

Data Protection
http://www.hants.gov.uk/education/schools/dataprotection/
To comply with the school’s data protection policy, the teaching assistant must follow this policy accordingly whenever accessing school records. Furthermore, when the teaching assistant manipulates the records, the data must be updated with the central school server.

Health & Safety
The Three Laws Of Robotics, formulated by Isaac Asimov in 1942, have these basic principles: -

A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.

A robot must obey orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

(Reference: http://www.anu.edu.au/people/Roger.Clarke/SOS/Asimov.html,
Date Accessed: 31st Jan 2007)

The teaching assistant must comply with these principles to ensure the well being of the children. This is a major area due to advancement of robotic technology.

This is not a requirement derived from the persona's, however, as it is a legislative requirement.

We can also take into consideration the health and safety of the teaching assistant. Again, this requirement is not necessarily derived from the persona's, but it is necessary that the teaching assistant be water proof to protect itself from rain/accidental spillage etc.

Sensing Emotions / Objects
After analysing the persona's, we have come to the conclusion that the robot teaching assistant must be able to sense human emotion. The persona's all had a list of fears which can affect the child's emotions. Ben, for example, has a particular fear for a teacher called Miss Darcy, whilst Jason has a fear for his next door neighbours cat Molly. These emotions can affect how the teaching assistant should perceive human interaction, so it is of vital importance that sensing is a key requirement.

Local Access with School Database
The teaching assistant should be able to access the school database for information such as school timetabling information. This is of importance, as when analysing, the persona's, each persona had a set structure for the school day and the Teaching Assistant must be able to keep track of lessons etc.

Now that we have derived the requirements from the persona's, a formal set of requirements can now be defined.

The appearance dilemma – human or android?

There are two possible appearances that can be adopted, a human and android appearance.

Human appearance

The human appearance is in terms of a female or male teacher. As the target audience is under the age of 11 the children are currently in primary/junior school. Statistics have shown that the number of female teachers in primary schools is significant in relation to male teachers. For example, the guardian stated in 2005 that 15.7% of primary school teachers were male and that 47% of children aged 5 to 11 have no contact with male teachers [1]. Taking this into account it can be argued that the teaching assistant should adopt a female appearance to “blend” into the environment. Although, the guardian also stated that 25% of parents questioned were concerned about their children not having enough interaction with male primary teachers.

Android appearance

The android appearance will result in a unisex appearance. The advantage of an android appearance is that the children will be attracted to the teaching assistant, hence stimulate the children. However, it can also be argued that the children may lose concentration and may see the teaching assistance as a toy.

Both appearances were discussed and the group decided that the female appearance was the most suitable based upon a number of factors:
The majority of junior/primary school teachers are female
The teaching assistant will not be able to replicate 100% human behaviour and taking into account that 47% of children aged 5 to 11 have no contact with male teachers the children [1] may develop a certain attitude toward males
A android appearance will result in the children losing concentration and regarding the teaching assistant as a toy

Female Humanoid Requirements
- Black glasses
- Brown eyes
- Black formal jacket and trousers
- Blue top
- Silicon skin
- Black shoes

After a visit to the school the appearance requirements were derived from observations of the current teachers and the children's behaviour towards them. Furthermore the persona's were asked “who is you favourite teacher?” which aided the process. For example, Serena answered Miss Dhillion. The favourite teachers was prioritized in the analysis and common trends were identified, for example, we concluded that the teachers that wore black clothing received this highest attention from children.

[1] Source

Analysing the Market

We are assuming that in 10-15 years AI and robotics would have evolved to offer the functionality required for the teaching assistant.

To our knowledge there is not a fully functional robot teaching assistant available in today's market, however there are robots that can offer some of the functionality, for example, the Honda robot Asimo. This robot offers different functionality to what we are suggesting., for example, Asimo offers no speech functionality, hence could not be considered as a teaching assistant.

After researching into alternative teaching assistants a number of tools were discovered with the majority being on-line. However these tools offer very limited functionality in comparison to the robot teaching assistant.

The screen-shot below demonstrate a basic teaching tool that we have researched:



The tool above is typical of many software teaching tools that can be regarded as offering very limited functionality and not comparable to the robot teaching assistant. To conclude the robot assistant can be regarded as a revolutionary teaching assistant offering the next generation of teaching assistant technology.

Source:

Final Idea

We have chosen the Robot Teaching Assistant as our final idea.

Most of our ideas were educationally based and the teaching assistant seems to be the most interactive and innovative.

The technologies associated with the manufacturing of such systems are available in today's world, for example, Honda's ASIMO robot and Osaka University's Actroid humanoid robot.

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Persona

Name: Serena Sondhi
Age: 8
Overview of Serena's Family

• Older brother aged 23


• Runs his own business

• Older sister aged 20


• Model

• Father aged 52


• Movie film producer

• Mother aged 51


• Manages family property portfolio

A day in the life of Serena
School Day: -

• Wakes up at 7am -> Gets dressed for school -> Eats breakfast prepared by family chef -> Collects homemade packed lunch -> Escorted to school -> School -> Home -> Television -> Friend comes round -> Homework -> Family Dinner -> Bed at 9:30am

Weekend: -

• Wakes up at 9am -> Eats breakfast prepared by family chef -> Watches cartoons -> Gets dressed -> Goes with mother to shopping -> Home -> Plays with family in the garden -> Television -> Family Dinner -> Bed at 10:15am

School Activities: -

• Dropped off in the morning by her mother and picked up after school


• Enjoys School and has many friends, extremely popular


• Enthusiastic about learning Ancient History – favourite topic is the Egyptians

Household and leisure activities: -

• Enjoys playing dolls houses with her friends


• Plays chess with friends (sometimes herself)


• Plays her violin


• Enjoys time spent with her older sister who she looks up to as a role model

Goals and Fears: -

Goals: -

• Becomes as successful as her older sister


• Get into the school orchestra

Fears:

• Not seeing her Father during the week due to work


• Her older sister and brother leaving home

Computer Skills, Knowledge and Abilities: -

• Very computer-savvy for her age


• Does all her homework on the computer under parents supervision


• Does not use the internet – parents do not allow it

Demographic Attributes: -

• Wealthy upper class family


• Rich suburbia – Large properties with acres of land

Technology: -

• Has a Personal Computer in her own bedroom but only uses it with parents to do homework

Communicating: -

• Has many school friends


• School reports show her to by shy in class, but does well at school with good grades


• Is part of a karate club


• Enjoys spending time with her family at home

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Persona

Name: Ben Manvir
Age: 9
Overview

• Sister aged 17


• Currently looking for employment


• Mother aged 40


• Part time receptionist at local Law firm


• Farther aged 41


• Full time bus driver

A Day In The Life Of Ben

• School Day
• Wake up 6.30 -> Internet (miniclips.com) -> school > home-> Tea -> Internet (bebo.com, hi5.com, MSM Messenger) -> Play station -> Dinner -> School work (If parents can persuade him) -> Bed at 9.30


• Weekend


• Wake up 10.00 -> Football with Farther at local club -> Tea -> Sky -> Internet (See above) -> Sometimes goes to next door neighbours house-> Dinner -> Bed at 10.00

School Activities

• During school breaks and dinner time plays football with friends


• Does not pay much attention to teacher


• Thinks that subjects like Geography and History are a waste of time

Household and Leisure Activities

• Main interest is computer games (Wrestling, FIFA, Gears of War)


• Plays football with farther and next door neighbour


• Is a member of many social networks (bobo.com, hi5.com etc…)

Goals and Fears

• Goals


• Not sure, but would like a job that involved playing games!


• Fears


• Homework


• Teacher Miss Darcy


• Parents will take away his gaming consoles if he doesn't try harder at school

Computer Skills, Knowledge and Abilities

• Very knowledgeable about the Internet


• Able to understand new technologies fairy quickly


• When he does do his homework he uses the Internet

Demographic Attributes

• Working class family


• Inner city borough

Technology

• Has varies gaming consoles, PC and laptop


• Activities dominated by gaming


• Constantly pushing parents for new technology, for example, new games

Communicating

• Has limited number of friends


• Spends more time on the Internet and playing games


• Joined the local cricket club but never attended


• School report emphasised a lack of communication skills

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Personas

Overview
Name: Janet Smith
Age: 38
Occupation: Teacher at primary school
Status: Married and has a child
Husband: Tim Smith, 39, psychologist
Child: John Ward, 10, goes to school

A Day in the Life
Monday - Friday:
9am-5.00pm Teaching and other duties at school
Evenings: Marking papers and homework, preparing for the next school day
Weekends: Marking papers and homework, preparing for the next weeks school days, spending time with the family. Meet up with old friends and colleagues. Watching TV and reading articles on-line.

School Activities

• From 9am to 3.30pm he teaches.
• 3.30pm to 5pm attends teachers' meetings, etc. and when she is free at this time marks her pupils' homework.
• Sometimes she finds it difficult to put up with kids' unwillingness to pay attention to her classes.
• She finds marking homework time consuming.

Household and leisure activities

• She is a member of a local bowling team.
• Always ties to run away from housework.
• Spends lots of time at the weekend on the on the computer reading articles.

Goals, fears and Aspirations

• Wants to be the headmaster of the school.
• She fears losing the control over her classes as sometimes she finds it difficult to get the kids attention.

Computer skills, knowledge and Abilities

• Has basics skills of using computers and uses them often.
• Very good at science subjects.

Technology Attitudes
She considers computers as a useful tool and wants to learn to use them more.

Communicating
she has many friends and loves to socialize with people.

International Considerations

• She goes with her family to different counties like Spain, Portugal and Canada on holiday.
• She loves travelling and knowing about other cultures.

Personas

Source

Overview

• Name: Tom Green
  
• Age: 9
  
• Tom is disabled, having lost the use of his legs in a car accident.
  Parents:
  
  • Mother is a nurse.
    
  • Father owns a small construction firm.
• Tom has an older brother (Edward) aged 12.
  

A Day in the Life of Tom

Mon – Fri:

• School is from 9:00 – 3:30. Evenings spent playing on his computer console, doing homework and watching TV.

Weekends:

• Enjoys seeing friends on a Saturday, and usually spends Sunday with his family.

School Activities

• Tom is building up to his exams and therefore spending more time studying.
  
• He is a member of the chess club at school.

Household and Leisure Activities

• Tom enjoys playing computer games and seeing friends.

Goals, Fears, and Aspirations

• Tom would like to work in a museum when he is older.

Computer Skills, Knowledge, and Abilities

• Tom has learnt basic computer skills through his ICT lessons at school.
  
• Tom is very good at maths and science but struggles with English.
  
• He is very interested in history.

Demographic Attributes

• Tom’s parents have a good combined salary.
  
• They live together in a pleasant village in the country.

Technology Attitudes

• Tom likes computers and gadgets.

Communicating

• Tom gets on well with people and has many friends.
  
• He enjoys socialising with his brother too.

International Considerations

• Tom has been to Spain once with his family, but is just as happy staying home.

Personas

Persona: Jason

Overview Jason Powers aged 8

• Younger brother who is 4
  
• Mum – financial analyst
  
• Dad – hospital

A day in the life

• School --> Home --> Tea --> Play games -->
  park to play football --> Dinner --> TV --> Bed by 9
  
• Weekends --> Football training at 9 in the morning till
  11 --> Lunch --> TV --> Goes to football with dad (big Arsenal fan)
  --> Tea from take-away --> friends come round or sometimes he goes round
  to play computer games or just chill out --> Dinner --> picked up from
  dad--> home --> TV --> bed
  
• Very outgoing person
  
• Calm and relaxed

School activities

• Dropped off at school in the mornings & picked up
  after school
  
• Breakfast at school, member of breakfast club and has
  school dinners
  
• Finds school very boring and parents feel he is not
  learning much

Household and leisure activities

• Returns from school and jumps straight onto PS2
  
• Loves counter strike and FIFA 2007
  
  
  
  • Level 15 and finished 2 seasons with Arsenal
  
  
• Much the same at weekends but sometimes has friends round.
  
• Plays football sometimes after school with friends
  
• Loves reading PS2 magazines

Goals, fears and Aspirations

• Wants to have a career in computers and gaming
  
• Afraid of next doors cat, Molly
  
• Loves computer games too much, bit of a fanatic
  
• Homework and class test

Computer skills, knowledge and
Abilities

• Can use PC and consoles
  
• Picks up different styles of gaming easily

Market size and influence

• Great influence as he is into technology such as gaming
  
• Finds new technology interesting

Demographic attributes

• Quite wealthy
  
• Live in a very quite area.
  
• Shops and park easily accessible

Technology

• Mainly used for gaming
  
• Fascinated by new inventions such as PSP and
  PS3

• Loves to keep up with new and old technology
  
• Has played on Sega mega drive and has the PS collection,
  he only needs the PS3 to complete his collection
  

Communicating

• Plays football with a couple of mates from school and from
  his street
  
• They get together and have tournaments in FIFA 2007 and
  did so with a Mortal Kombat tournament
  
• Has joined swimming club in town
  
• Loves going to computer fairs
  
• Was taken to a Virtual reality chamber for his birthday
  which he found very cool

International considerations

• Last years trip to Egypt was a complete disaster, as he
  moaned all the time he was there
  
  
  
  • But fine when he went to Japan the year before, because
    he was shown all sorts of new technology and that is where he brought his
    PSP

HCI Theory & Practice - Personas

Definition of a Persona: "A persona is a rich picture of an imaginary person who represents your core user group"
(Beale et al, 2004, Human-Computer Interaction 3rd Edition)

Where possible, we will try to involve many real life users into the design process as possible as well as using persona's. When formulating a design solution from assessing the persona's and real life users, as a group we can ask, "How will X react to this?". By asking these types of questions, we can then begin to imagine how the end user will interact and behave, which will inevitably aid in the decision to choose the prospective idea.

Todays Meeting

After today’s meeting we have decided to create the personas to evaluate the ideas that are left after stage two.

We have decided that 2 real life and 2 fictional persona's will be documented, this ensures there is a even balance. Furthermore, there we are assuming all the persons attend the same school in Harbourne, Birmingham.

We will be following the Microsoft personas template in the creation of the personas, although one will be a real life user.

The following are benefits of developing personas part of the design process defined by Tina Calabria

• Users' goals and needs become a common point of focus for the project, hence following the user centered design process.
  


• The group can develop personas relatively quickly to gather user requirements
  


• Design efforts can be prioritized based on the personas


• Disagreements over design decisions can be sorted out by referring back to the personas


• Designs can be constantly evaluated against the personas, reducing the frequency of large and expensive usability tests


• One of the personas will be a real life user in order to gain real knowledge from a real potential user

Once the personas have been documented we will create scenarios in which we observe how the personas would interact with the purposed technology.

By doing this, we will have a better indication on how we should design the technology during the creative design and prototyping sections.

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Summary of ideas

The aim of tomorrow's (Thursday 8th February) session will be to assess the list of ideas above and then focus on the persona's which we can use to assess against the technological ideas put forward as discussed with Russell.

Definition of a Persona: "A persona is a rich picture of an imaginary person who represents your core user group"
(Beale et al, 2004, Human-Computer Interaction 3rd Edition)

Where possible, we will try to involve many real life users into the design process as possible as well as using persona's. When formulating a design solution from assessing the persona's and real life users, as a group we can ask, "How will X react to this?". By asking these types of questions, we can then begin to imagine how the end user will interact and behave, which will inevitably aid in the decision to choose the prospective idea.

---

The Second Stage

The ideas that I put forward are Software System for Children and Virtual Blackboard.

• Software System can be implemented currently. The existing software systems for children, although have interesting graphics but, they are still complex for children to use.


• Virtual Blackboard is more futuristic but if it is implemented it would help children to learn better at school.

I have decided against voice to melody recognition because:

• A real instrument can attract children more into learning music than simulated software.


• Alternative software such as FlexiMusic Kids Composer which allows kids to compose and record music already exists.

The Second Stage

The two ideas I have decided to put forward are the speech recognition software and the computer watch scheduler. I have therefore decided against the mind interpreter, for the following reasons:



• The idea is too futuristic, which means that many assumptions would have to be made about the technology.
  
  
• There is an ethical issue regarding the whole concept. Is it fair to read someone's thoughts?
  
  
• It would be difficult to prove that the interpreter is correct.
  
  
• There are similar products on the market already like baby monitors.
  
  
  The speech recognition software has the potential of being a useful teaching tool. This idea would have to assume that a child's speech could be interpreted effectively.
  
  The computer watch scheduler does not have any prerequisites.
  
  

The Second Stage

The two designs that Taiyyib chose to make were the inflatable vest
and the tracking device. Taiyyib had done an analysis of
why he had chosen these and why the others were inappropriate.

Inflatable vest
We found
that such a technology would in fact create more problems in the long run. If we
did chose this idea, there would be a lot of complaints if such a vest did not
deliver the goods, therefore the reason being of that it would not dominate the
market

• Inaccurate judgement
  
  
• Refuse to wear the vest due to it being irritable
  
  
• Amount of pressure to exert on the child
  
  
• Height and weight would need to be considered, so in fact would need to be
  custom made
  
  
• Unrealistic
  
  
• Can be done now with use of different technologies
  
  
• Complaints maybe suing the makersExperiencing
  violence

Tracking device
This is a much heated
debate in today’s society, although it may in fact help, it is prone to
disasters. Issues arising include

• Privacy invaded
  
• How would the device be implanted in the child
  
• Long term dangers occurring in the body
  
• Hackers could track the child and stalk them which will increase crime
  
• Allows would be hackers to learn a routine
  
• Computer glitches, failure rate is said to hover around 10-15% [Spooner]
  
• Strict guidelines would need to be imposed (e.g. how it should be used?
  Etc)

Speech recognition for disabled childrenThis
technology may not be correct 100% of the time, since research is still going
into it and it still will not allow for 100% speech recognition but it is fast
evolving.

Remote control spy bug
This technology is
already on the market and could potentially create risks, I have listed a few
drawbacks to say why we did not chose this approach

• Spy on important conversations
  
• Conversations can be disturbing
  
• Easy breakable
  
• A lot of technical issues may arise
  
• Experiencing violence

The Second Stage

The two ideas that I have put forward is the Interactive GUI Monitor and the Robot Teaching Assistant. The ideas can be seen as educational tools which can motivate children and make the experience enjoyable. Although these two ideas can be perceived as futuristic, the technologies used to design such systems are available in today’s world.

The Children Anti-Gravity Chamber was not put forward to the second stage of the evaluation due to these reasons: -

What if several children injure themselves within the chamber? What health & safety measures can prevent the likelihood of injury?

Is this really necessary for a child’s development?

There are safer alternatives for physical exercise for children.



The Baby Monitor For Children In Cars was also not put forward due to these reasons: -

Could pose a distraction to the driver/parent when driving within a vehicle.

May not necessarily solve the problem of comforting one’s child.

Would this be more of a tool for parents as opposed to the child?


In analyzing the two ideas that I have put forward for stage two, it must be stated that the technologies for both systems are available in today’s world. This can be an important aspect in bringing the technology to life during the prototyping stage when we will be asked to produce a mock-up of the system, as we will be able to backup technological claims by referencing the technologies used today. There is, however, an assumption which I do make: -

The Robot Teaching Assistant will be able to interact within groups (i.e. a classroom) and individually.

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The Second Stage

I have decided to put forward the Virtual Classroom and 3D Educational Environment ideas. Both of these ideas are futuristic and involve making the educational process more interactive and enjoyable.

The Baby Language Interpretor was not put forward to the second stage due to a number of reasons:

• How would we know that the system was working? May result in the child getting more distressed if the wrong interpretation is provided by the system


• Is the child to young for this type of technology?


• Some argue that letting a child cry is good for them
  link

The Automatic Tie-Up Shoes idea was not put forward to the second stage due to a number of reasons:

• Health and Safety issues


• What if the shoes are too tight?


• What if the child has difficulty taking the shoes off?




• The technology does not really make the lives of the children/parents/supervisors easier as the time taken to tie shoe-lasses is negligible

As a final point, I must stress that I am making significant assumptions about the ideas that I have put forward,

• Hologram technology would have developed to the extend where the
  children can touch and feel the holograms
• 
  
• The holagram can respond


• The children will understand that the holagram is not "real"

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Criticisms and evaluation

These criticisms will allow us to choose a technology to develop much easier.
The group decided that it would be best if we chose two designs that we would like to implement and then further evaluate them so then we came to a decision of which project we would chose to design and make. From our first meeting with Russell we can start to pan out our personas.

Russell said that we could make personas first and then base our technology on them. After the second stage, we will be able to concentrate on personas and assess them against the technologies put foward.

Project Ideas

1. Inflatable vest

If a child were to have a fall, the vest would sense that a fall is about to take place and inflate the vest in order for less injury to occur.


- Will ensure safety for the user
- Could be used for different purposes
- Minimises injury in car accidents
- Sports
- Will be beneficial for areas such as care and hospitals
- Hardware would be implanted inside the vest and would look and feel as a vest but - with another purpose



2. Tracking Device

A small electronic safe device be attached inside the body by the way of surgery and that would be connected to a computer that would track the whereabouts of the child no matter the location, anywhere in the world

- Would easily track whereabouts of children
- Take care of crime
- Eliminate Anti-social behaviour
- Implant the device into child
- A screen will show where the child is no matter where the location
- If a simple command such as “find Joe” is made will pinpoint the location
Would ensure safety


3. Remote Control spy bug
This will allow children to fly a bug into a room and sit and listen to a conversation. The device will have attached to its eyes a video recorder and sound device that will allow children to see and hear what is being said on a TV screen in their bedroom, a piece of software would come with the bug.

- Spy on important conversations
- Listen
- View
- Fly the bug around
- Can be considered as a game but for different purpose
- Fly the bug around
- Eyes of the bug would have camera and sound
- Can be connected to TV for maximum usage
Compact
- Would be small enough to not be recognised


4. Speech recognition for disabled children
This technology would cater for young disabled children; this would translate their words for someone who does not understand what they are saying. Similar to a baby translator but for disabled children.

- Will allow others to understand what they (disabled children) are saying
- Benefits for parents with disabled children
- More abrupt conversations take place
- User friendly – will make life easier

Brainstorm Session

Mind Interpreter

This is a device that allows a child’s thoughts to be understood by their parents/supervisor before they are old enough to communicate themselves.

• Parents/supervisor receives child’s thoughts on portable device.
  
  
• Signals are sent wirelessly.
  
  
• The carer is alerted when the child is in need of attention. For example if the child is hungry, thirsty, or distressed.
  

Source:
http://www.iviewcameras.co.uk/images/products/2010babyaward.gif



Speech Recognition Software

This teaches a child how to use a computer by performing tasks that are passed verbally.

• Performs common tasks like word-processing, and accessing the Internet, as well as basic operations like file searching.
  
  
• Curser displayed on screen to allow the child to learn how to perform these tasks.
  
  
• Restrictions can be in place to prevent the child causing any damage to the computer, including parental restrictions.
  
  
• Saves time while learning the basic concepts and once ready, the child can begin using the mouse and keyboard.
  

Source:
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0009V0ZJG.01-A1NDBS7YGOPBD6.LZZZZZZZ.jpg



Computer Watch Scheduler

This piece of technology is a digital watch worn by children to remind them of their school schedule and deadlines.

• This would help a child plan their time better and organise their workload.
  
  
• Homework assignments are recorded storing the time and date due in.
  
  
• School break times can be preset so pupils are not late for their lessons.
  

Source:
http://homepages.inf.ed.ac.uk/rbf/HIPR2/images/wat1str1.gif

Brainstorm session

Software System for Children

A software system, specifically for kids to help them to familiarize and use computers with minimal training at an early age:

• From a children points of view using a computer is difficult


• Current available software for children only concentrates on animation and the color of the GUI.


• The software system would use language and words for the commands that are not difficult for children to understand.


• The software system would be colorful use cartoon and fantasy animation and picture to avoid children getting bored.


• It would be extremely user friendly as children are more likely to do more mistakes than adults (e.g. use of commands such as do, undo etc.).

Source: http://www.astoundit.com/products/kidwidget/featuresummary/kidsafe/pics/opensample.jpg

Virtual Blackboard

A virtual blackboard, which would allow children to write and draw more expressively and creatively than it, can be done on a normal blackboard.

• Using a blackboard and chalk can be boring for children, as they do not get attracted to the traditional methods.


• The virtual blackboard would allow children to write in different fonts size and colors.


• It would allow them to show their creativity and expression, in drawing colorful images.

Voice to Melody converter

The aim of this system is to attract kids more into learning music. A system that can convert children’s singing into a musical melody.

• The system uses various audio input devices.


• It would have a display monitor, which would show how the converted melody is played and performed by an instrument.


• It would also show the notes for that melody so that children gets familiarize with reading musical notes.

Source: http://gfx.download-by.net/screen/182/182166-rainbow-piano-for-kids.jpg

Brainstorm Session

Baby Language Interpreter

Enables the parents/supervisor to understand what the child is trying to say by processing the “baby language” into English (or alternative) via audio input devices.

• Understanding a child’s needs and wants is a difficult task
  
  
• The child will use words that the parents will not understand
  
  
• Software translates the baby language into English (or alternative)
  
  
• Improves the lives of both the child and parents/supervisors
  
  

Source: http://www.babysfirstsigns.com/images/postershot2.JPG

3D Educational Environment

A 3-dimensional environment that aids in the educational process by displaying interactive holograms.

• Initial research has shown that children find much of the educational activities “boring” [BBC Link]
  
  
• This technology takes education to a new level by making the educational environment digital
  
  
• The holograms will give the child the illusion that they are out in the “real world”, hence making the learning environment more interactive and enjoyable
  
  
• If the children are learning about cats, them the system will display cat holograms that the children can “stroke”
  
  
• Once the child has made contact with the hologram they are educated either by the hologram or by a hologram teacher
  

Source: www.dragonseye.com/gallery/d/670-8/holograms.jpg

Virtual Classroom

This technology provides a method that enables all children to be at school from the comfort of their own home via a virtual classroom.

• A child may be ill and unable to travel to school etc… there are many reasons why a child may not want/able to attend school
  
  
• The child places some type of device on their head and they are entered into the virtual classroom
  
  
• This idea is based on the 3D educational environment idea, in the sense that the learning environment is digital and the child can interact (walk, talk etc..) with other children.
  
  
• The child is not restricted to their local area, the child can interact with other children from all over the world, further stimulating the child.
  

Source: http://www.really.ru/review/images/vr_hmd_i-glasses_pc-3d_really-ru.jpg

Automatic tie-up shoes

This technology replaces the traditional shoe-lasses with straps that automatically lock when the child puts on their shoes.

• Avoids the child hurting themselves due to untied shoe lasses
  
  
• Saves time
  
  

Source: http://tipos.com.br/media/170/20060427-Nike.jpg

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Ideas From Brainstorming session

Interactive GUI Nutrition Monitor

The system would allow a child to add food to a tray, which would analyze the contents of the food and display nutritional data in the form of graphs on a nearby screen.

• Children often make poor eating choices and the system can be seen as a way to teach children on how to make better eating choices.
  
  
• The amount of food the child places on the tray can teach children about portion sizes.
  
  
• Can be used to compare different foods.
  
  

Source: http://www.nutricoach.net/images/nutribase%20screen1.jpg

Baby monitor for children in cars

Allows a baby to see the parents/driver's face on a screen in front of them to reassure them that they are close by.

• Two cameras used, one facing the baby and one facing the driver
  
  
• Two screens used, one facing the baby and one facing the driver
  
  
• System can be seen as a way to reassure baby that their parents are close by. Particularly useful if baby is upset etc and the driver/parent is stuck in traffic
  
  
• Primarily for babies aged 3 under
  
  

Source: http://www.thenewparentsguide.com/images/OSA%20auto%20videomonitor.jpg

Robot Teaching Assistant

This will allow children to be taught by a robotic teaching assistant based on Honda’s ASIMO robot.

• Have a humanoid robot interact with groups of children in the playground and in the classroom
  
  
• Be able use the humanoid robot as a way to teach young children how to cross the road and even assist disabled children
  
  
• Be able use the android to walk young children to a destination safely, for example, to their school bus.
  
  
• Children are interested in interacting with innovative and ‘cool’ things.
  
  

Source: http://www.diseno-art.com/images/ASIMO_high-res.jpg

Source: http://www.honda.co.jp/ASIMO/newmodel/images/asimo.jpg

Children anti-gravity chamber

This will allow children to undertake a different form of physical activity and allow them to experience weightlessness.

• Children are interested in Space; this will allow them to experience what astronaut’s experience
  
  
• Sides of chamber would have cushion layer similar to that of a bouncy castles
  
  
• Would allow groups of children and individuals to enter the chamber
  
  
• Can be used as an educational tool for kids in primary school when they attend physical exercise lessons
  
  

Source: http://www.sfasu.edu/pubaffairs/SFA-in-news/Palestine-05-26-04_photo.jpg

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