1998 Volume 22 Issue 2 Pages 71-85
In this paper, IBlocK, a newly developed human-computer interface, was presented and cases of children's play with it was reported. IBlocK automatically records the assembly process of blocks by children. Although the interface has the appearance of toy blocks, it takes in topological information and the positioning of blocks as soon as they are assembled. Measurement of the children's assembly activities suggested that they played with IBlocK without a sense of incongruity. However, it was shown that the durability and size of the interface should be improved since IBlocK is intended to be used by children. The data collected were examined from two points of view, viz., statistical analysis of the state numbers and the appearance frequency, and chronological analysis of the shape change of composed blocks. As a result, it is expected that the variety of block assemblies can be compared using figures of the state transition derived from the former analysis, and that a qualitative index concerning the stratagem of assembly can be obtained from the latter analysis.
