Abstract:

Active Triangles Kids (ATK) is an interactive game in which children from 3 to 6 years old connect real objects with digitally animated avatars through the use of Augmented Reality and IoT. It consists of a set of geometrical figures: triangles, hexagons, squares, and circles (physical component) that through their manipulation and depending on certain combinations, act as interfaces and awaken digital avatars called genies (virtual component). The manipulation of the figures has a strong mathematical character (logic structure) that leads to the activation of a learning situation (educational structure). Bridging manipulation to the virtual world is achieved through the coordination of technologies based on the Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Augmented Reality (AR), and the mechanics and physical components of the ATK serious game. The 162 possible combinations (color and shape) activate different learning situations on different devices: augmented reality glasses, computers, tablets, or electronic whiteboards. The game dynamics promotes interactive learning (manipulation) in remote and IoT environments (learning) and creates automatic and interactive digital support for teaching at an early age.

Most of the educational games and electronic devices on the market aimed at ages 3 to 6 years have two essential characteristics:
(1) they are digital (e.g. watching a video animation) and they are usually (2) interactive. (e.g. video game).

However, few of them allow the manipulation of real objects that can be combined with the digital story offered by the electronic device. This is why manipulation would be the third functional characteristic for these materials and fundamentally the most important to guarantee significant learning in the early stages as shown by the theories of discovery learning and social constructivism (Brunner, Jolly & Sylva, 1977; Vygotsky, 1979) since they facilitate the acquisition of knowledge before the activation of the figurative and abstract representation phases.

A product like ATK has a market niche by combining the manipulation of physical objects with digital projections based on IoT and AI. At present, the early childhood education population has access to games and digital resources that are based on traditional training based on the reproduction of animations and instructions and digital interactions based on keystrokes or screen touches. This limits the learning potential of early ages. The added value of ATK is that it combines the digital and real-world to adapt to the experiential learning patterns of the childhood stage. ATK, through the symbiosis between the Game-Based Learning methodology and the IoT, allows moving from passive virtual learning to self-regulated and active learning in which users (children) can interact with an adult (on the screen) through manipulation of objects.

ATK has obtained two awards:
(1) Fresh Product 2019 within the Madrid Design Festival, Spain;
(2) Madrid Design Association 2019.

Acknowledgement:
To date, it has been funded by the BBVA (creadores culturales program by Becas Leonardo 2022: https://www.redleonardo.es/beneficiario/juan-jose-mena-marcos/) and a TCUE project (transference University to Companies) by the Regional Government of Castilla y León, Spain.

Keywords:

Active Triangle Kids, Serious games, Augmented Reality, IoT, AI.