PINOKY: a ring that animates your plush toys

  • Authors:

  • Yuta Sugiura;Calista Lee;Masayasu Ogata;Anusha Withana;Yasutoshi Makino;Daisuke Sakamoto;Masahiko Inami;Takeo Igarashi

  • Affiliations:

  • Keio University & JST ERATO Igarashi Design Interface Project, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan;Keio University & JST ERATO Igarashi Design Interface Project, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan;Keio University & JST ERATO Igarashi Design Interface Project, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan;Keio University, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan;Keio University, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan;The University of Tokyo & JST ERATO Igarashi Design Interface Project, Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan;Keio University & JST ERATO Igarashi Design Interface Project, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan;The University of Tokyo & JST ERATO Igarashi Design Interface Project, Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan

  • Venue:
  • Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
  • Year:
  • 2012

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Abstract

PINOKY is a wireless ring-like device that can be externally attached to any plush toy as an accessory that animates the toy by moving its limbs. A user is thus able to instantly convert any plush toy into a soft robot. The user can control the toy remotely or input the movement desired by moving the plush toy and having the data recorded and played back. Unlike other methods for animating plush toys, PINOKY is non-intrusive, so alterations to the toy are not required. In a user study, 1) the roles of plush toys in the participants' daily lives were examined, 2) how participants played with plush toys without PINOKY was observed, 3) how they played with plush toys with PINOKY was observed, and their reactions to the device were surveyed. On the basis of the results, potential applications were conceptualized to illustrate the utility of PINOKY.