The interactive emotion pillow for children: the Furling

Paper in proceeding, 2014

The aim of this project was to create a way to help children learn about emotions, while promoting physical and social play. The gap between different playing styles was also sought to be bridged. A concept was constructed where pillows with several interactive characteristics could be put together like building blocks. Specifically, the prototype of a pillow that would audibly display six distinctive emotions depending on how the user touched it was created. This pillow can help children explore emotions in a playful manner, thus developing their socioemotional competence. The solution can also be very helpful for children with a diagnosis in the autism spectrum, or with developmental disabilities. The project was developed with the co-designing help of children from the 2nd grade and a three-year old test user.