Quibbler

Setup

We put the Robosapien, Transformers and Gundam figures into a communal office environment of graduate students and observed the amount and type of interaction that occurred with these toys. The office environment is one where people couldcome between classes as a place to work and socialize. There are no cubicles, only a long communal 6-8 person table and a smaller 3-4 person table where students bring in their laptop and materials to work. The work space is complemented by a small lounging area with couches, with assorted past-times like a dart board and Legos so this was an environment where toys would not be a completely foreign intrusion.

Findings

The first two weeks yielded the most activity because of the novelty of these toys. People especially liked the tele-operated nature of the Robosapien controlling it to interact from across the room with other people. The remote controlled nature allowed only one person to control the robot at a time, but often with even just another person or an audience, people would make requests of where to move the robot, and asking what it can do. The dancing functionality inspired people to dress the Robosapien up and make a video:

http://blog.zszaiss.com/wp-content/californiaDreamin.html

People also played with the Transformers during this time period and less so with the Gundam action figures.