Toys have evolved over the ages from simple dolls and cars to electronic toys, and more recently have been integrating mobile technologies. Toy computing incorporates the physical component of a traditional toy combined with networking and sensory capabilities of mobile devices. Current trends from Toy Fair 2014 and 2015 indicate the growing popularity of augmented reality toys and integration with smartphones and mobile apps. This chapter introduces the concept of toy computing and its place in the industry. Further, this chapter also outlines an architectural model for toy computing illustrating the interactions between the child user, the physical toy component, the mobile device and mobile service.

Mobile Services for Toy Computing

Although initially designed strictly for entertainment purposes, video games have long been recognized as a potential resource for teaching and learning purposes. The area of "serious games" has crossed over with simulation software to become a popular area of enquiry for researchers. More recently, distributed classification games have been used as a method of gathering data, primarily for information retrieval purposes. We propose here an additional purpose for video games: that we might use games as a method to evaluate elements of human-computer interaction. In this paper we present an overview of existing uses of games outside the entertainment category, describe an audio-based game that we designed for testing loudspeaker placement, and one that we will build to test the spatialization abilities of an amplitude panning method intended to be applied to four loudspeakers for a smart table computer. We conclude by outlining some other potential areas where games could be used in HCI research.

Using games as a method of evaluation of usability and user experience in human-computer interaction design

Interprofessional critical care training (ICCT) is an important activity that helps develop and formalize an understanding of the roles, expertise, and unique contributions attributed to members of multi-disciplinary teams in critical situations. Such training is of particular importance for teams that operate under tight time constraints in highly stressful conditions, such as that found in medicine. Here we describe our first steps towards developing a virtual learning environment (simulation) specifically aimed at ICCT for pediatric critical care teams. Our virtual learning environment employs a tabletop computing platform with novel image-based sensing technologies to enable collaboration and interaction amongst a group of trainees while promoting a learner-centric approach where the simulation is tailored specifically to the needs of each trainee.

Interprofessional critical care training: Interactive virtual learning environments and simulations

As the technology improves and their cost decreases, tabletop computers and their inherent ability to promote collaboration amongst users are gaining in popularity. Their use in virtual reality-based applications including virtual training environments and gaming where multi-user interactions are common is poised to grow. However, before tabletop computers become widely accepted, there are many questions with respect to spatial sound production and reception for these devices that need to be addressed. Previous work (Lam et al. in ACM Comput Entertain 12(2):4:1---4:19, 2014) has seen the development of loudspeaker-based amplitude panning spatial sound techniques to spatialize a sound to a position on a plane just above a tabletop computer's (horizontal) surface. Although it has been established that the localization of these virtual sources is prone to error, there is a lack of ground truth (reference) data with which to compare these earlier results. Here, we present the results of an experiment that measured sound localization of an actual sound source on a horizontal surface, thus providing such ground truth data. This ground truth data were then compared with the results of previous amplitude panning-based spatial sound techniques for tabletop computing displays. Preliminary results reveal that no substantial differences exist between previous amplitude panning results and the ground truth data reported here, indicating that amplitude panning is a viable spatial sound technique for tabletop computing and horizontal displays in general.

Sound localization on a horizontal surface: virtual and real sound source localization

Tabletop computers (also known as surface computers and smart tables) have been growing in popularity for the past decade and are poised to make inroads into the consumer market, opening up a new market for the games industry. But before tabletop computers become widely accepted, there are many questions with respect to sound production and reception for these devices that need to be explored, particularly when it comes to multimedia consumption on the devices. For example, which loudspeaker setups should be used to take into consideration the multi-user nature of tabletop computers, and which panning method(s) maximize the spatial localization abilities of the user(s)q Previous work suggests that a quadraphonic diamond-shaped loudspeaker configuration—whereby a loudspeaker is placed at each of the four sides of the tabletop computer—leads to more accurate localization results when compared with a traditional quadraphonic loudspeaker configuration—whereby a loudspeaker is placed at each of the four corners of the tabletop computer. Given this preference for a diamond loudspeaker configuration, we examine two amplitude-panning methods (bilinear interpolation and inverse distance) for spatializing a sound on the (horizontal) surface of the table-computer with a diamond loudspeaker configuration. Results from the study detailed in this paper indicate that there are no significant differences between the two methods and that both methods are prone to error.

Sound Localization on Tabletop Computers: A Comparison of Two Amplitude Panning Methods

Given the growing popularity of multi-touch mobility devices (e.g., iPods, smartphones), the move to multi-user touch screens and horizontal surfaces is a likely trajectory of the technology. Before smart tables become widely accepted, there are many questions particularly with respect to sound production and reception and multi model interaction for these devices that need to be explored (i.e., the interaction of sound and video cues). With respect to the sound interface, this introduces several design issues that must be addressed. More specifically, where do we position the loudspeakers and where should we position sounds in the mix, (in which speaker) for best reception? Here we describe a simple, and computationally efficient bilinear interpolation-based amplitude panning method designed specifically for horizontal surface computers with four loudspeakers. Preliminary user-based experiments were conducted to test the effectiveness of the method. Preliminary results indicate that virtual sound source positions very close to the user lead to the greatest localization error while the localization error for virtual sound source positions along the border of the surface was less.

Amplitude panning-based sound system for a horizontal surface computer: A user-based study

Table-top computing has been growing in popularity slowly for the last decade and is poised to make in-roads into the consumer market soon, opening up another new market for the games industry. However, before surface computers become widely accepted, there are many questions with respect to sound production and reception for these devices that need to be explored. Here, we describe two experiments that examine sound localization on a horizontal (table-top computer) surface. In the first experiment we collect "ground truth" data regarding physical sound source localization by employing a computer controlled grid of 25 equally spaced loudspeakers. In the second experiment we investigate virtual sound source localization using bilinear interpolation amplitude panning method and a modified quadraphonic loudspeaker configuration whereby four loudspeakers are positioned at each corner of the surface in a manner such that they emanate sound in an "upwards" direction. Obtained results indicate that sound localization of virtual sound sources on a horizontal surface is prone to errors and this is confirmed with our physical sound source "ground truth" data.

http://vgrserver.cse.yorku.ca/~jenkin/papers/2012/hcce2012audio.pdf

A framework for sound localization experiments and automation

https://ir.library.dc-uoit.ca/bitstream/10155/243/1/Lam_Jonathan.pdf

Jonathan Lam

Papers

Amplitude panning-based sound system for a horizontal surface computer: A user-based study

Sound localization on a horizontal surface: virtual and real sound source localization

Sound Localization on Tabletop Computers: A Comparison of Two Amplitude Panning Methods

A framework for sound localization experiments and automation

Spatial sound and sound localization on a horizontal surface for use with interactive surface (tabletop) computers