Luminous Interface for Facilitating Interactive Behavior and Group Formation in Children

Abstract

This study proposes a small wireless interface that measures and visualizes group dynamics in order to promote and enhance social interaction. The developed device, Enhanced Reach (ER), can be attached to sportswear or sports equipments, and it is capable of estimating geometric relationships by using the signal strength of the wireless communication between devices and their orientations. An illumination-based visualization method was developed to influence interaction within the group and encourage social interaction. We verified the performance and also evaluated the developed bibs implemented by ER between children with pervasive developmental disorders. Through experiments, we confirmed the usability of this device by children during sports and play activities and the efficacy of the proposed technology to obtain group dynamics.