Petimo: Children’s Companion for Safe Social Networking
A novel interactive approach that helps children make friends in safe social networks and reassures parents that their children are protected.
With the exponential expansion of digital media, more children are using social networks to communicate with their friends, and their numbers will grow rapidly in the future. But cyberspace is an increasingly unsafe environment that often victimizes children. Petimo is an interactive robotic toy that protects children from the dangers of online social networks and provides fun, face-to-face interaction with friends. It requires physical proximity before children can add friends to their social cyberworlds. In addition, children experience enhanced relationships with their friends through interactions in the real and virtual worlds by sending gifts and emoticons mediated by Petimo with haptic, visual, and audible events.
Petimo is designed specially for children between seven and nine years of age. Its many cutely designed interfaces, emoticons, and gifts have been specially designed to enhance its appeal to children. When the robot is squeezed or a gift is received, it displays a joyfully beaming face with a trilled sound. Children can use Petimo as a social networking tool, a learning companion, and/or a pet.
This demonstration also features Petimo World, which provides interactions such as 3D visualization of spatial arrangements, so children can understand how close their friendships are, interact with personalized avatars, and send special gifts and emoticons.
Adrian David Cheok
National University of Singapore and Keio University
Owen Noel Newton Fernando
National University of Singapore
Charith Lasantha Fernando
Keio University
Kening Zhu
National University of Singapore
Anusha Indrajith Withana
Keio University
Nimesha Ranasinghe
National University of Singapore
Yukihiro Morisawa
Keio University
Kasun Karunanayaka
National University of Singapore
Makoto Danjo
Keio University
Isuru Sawubhagya Godage
Michelle Narangoda
National University of Singapore
Nancy Lan-Lan Ma
Miyuru Dayarathna
Keio University
Roshan Lalintha Peiris
James Keng Soon Teh
Dilrukshi Abeyrathne
Chamari Priyange Edirisinghe
Kris Hoogendoorn
Junsong Hou
Wei Wang Thang
National University of Singapore