"Lila": where the action is... collaborative learning and play through visual and physical interaction

This paper explores the "humanization" of digital technology in the context of child’s play, specifically targeting the synthesis of physical and digital interaction to make a case against a product market that has become increasingly cold and screen-based. The concepts illustrated in this paper represent an approach to designing activity-based centers with embedded technology for young children of varying ages – in essence a proposal for the next "sandbox." The immediate focus was to engage children in shared creative activities that would engage the imagination, enable cooperative play, and encourage transitions between screen-based and physical activity. This project began as coursework and research in the School of Design at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (USA) and continued as part of the /d.search-labs at the Technical University of Eindhoven in the Netherlands as collaboration between these universities