Visualization of infants’ behavior at home using augmented reality for promotion of development and prevention of accidents

Abstract

This study presents a prototype of an augmented reality (AR) mobile application aimed at visualizing infants’ natural-setting motor and cognitive development for prevention of accidents and promotion of development. To provide adults with better understanding about the infants’ encounters with surrounding objects by visualization of actual recoded data, the study comprised three steps. First, we conducted longitudinal observations of 10 infants (6 males, 4 females), aged 4–12 months, at their homes in Tokyo, Japan. Second, we developed an AR application for iPhones and iPads, by using vision-based marker tracking technique. Based on the observations, 10 most frequently observed objects were adapted as markers for AR. To ensure privacy and to focus on infant–object interactions, we converted all AR movies to line drawings. Third, we conducted informal user interviews and user tests to confirm the method’s validity and usability. The longitudinal observational data shed light on the infants’ perceptions and actions, helping to clarify not only developmental possibilities but also risks of accidents. The user interview suggested that our prototype could scope out the home from infants and can help adults to obtain insights for encouraging child development and reevaluating childproofing home as an ongoing process.