2006 Volume 11 Issue 1 Pages 171-180
Young children often build various structures with wooden blocks; structures that are often used for pretend play. Based on this traditional toy, we propose a novel interactive toy for children, maintaining the physical assets of wooden blocks and enhancing them with automation. We name our interactive toy system "TSU.MI.KI." "TSU.MI.KI" consists of a set of computerized blocks equipped with several input/output devices. Children can tangibly interact with a virtual scenario by manipulating and constructing structures from the physical blocks, and by using input and output devices that are integrated into the blocks. We implemented an application with this system and evaluated by observating actual childrens' play with this application.
