Non-personal Data Collection for Toy User Interfaces

Toy-user-interfaces (ToyUI) are computing devices or peripherals that leverage interactivity and connectivity with other devices to promote physical and social play. ToyUI products may collect both personal and non-personal data (NPD) on their users. We propose nine data patterns for NPD collection as part of ToyUI design based on the study of 297 ToyUI items from both the literature and industry. In addition, we introduce a printed circuit board (PCB) used for rapid prototyping that enabled NPD data collection concerning both objects and users by gathering non-personal identification, positioning system, and motion tracking. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our hardware architecture by embedding it into two design scenarios, namely, closed rules and open-ended rules solutions. The objectives here are to assist the ToyUI makers in creating more meaningful play experiences while ensuring the privacy of children’s and their parents’ data