Communications of the ACM
Alexa, Be My Friend: Children Talk to Technology, But How Does It Respond?
A study by University of Washington researchers found that voice interfaces that repeat or prompt users to communicate could be more useful to children than currently available technologies.
Credit: YouTube
Voice interfaces that repeat or prompt users to communicate could be more useful to children than currently available technologies, according to University of Washington (UW) researchers.
The team found that children will persist in the face of a communication breakdown, providing insight to developers for the design of technologies that are more responsive to families.
The team recorded 14 children ages three to five—and, indirectly, their parents—as they played an age-appropriate game on a lab-issued tablet.
The researchers configured the tablet to record the children's responses, but they inadvertently shut off the device's ability to "hear" the user. This yielded data on how children communicate with nonresponsive voice technology and how their parents try to help.
The researchers grouped children's communication strategies into three categories: repetition, increased volume, and variation.
UW's Alexis Hiniker says the work could improve the design of interactive voice technologies by shifting the focus from how to get the response completely right to how to move toward a shared understanding.
From UW News
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