Playte, a tangible interface for engaging human-robot interaction

This paper describes a tangible interface, Playte, designed for children animating interactive robots. The system supports physical manipulation of behaviors represented by LEGO bricks and allows the user to record and train their own new behaviors. Our objective is to explore several modes of interaction, i.e. direct remote control, tangible programming, programming by demonstration, and programming by training, to learn the design principles for more accessible, engaging, and playful robots. We evaluate the system experimentally and report on key observations from play sessions. We conclude that Playte facilitates playful activities and is appropriate for the intended target group (age 6+). Further, we discuss lessons learned regarding pros and cons of the different supported interactions modes.