Interaction of Children with an Augmented Reality Smartphone App

Link to Research Paper

Interaction of Children with an Augmented Reality Smartphone App

Abstract

Many children now get access to smartphones by two years of age and gradually learn to operate them. The objective of this study was to determine the age at which children become capable of using smartphone apps with augmented reality. We developed an augmented reality smartphone app in C# and studied the interaction of 60 children aged between two and eight years with it. We conducted a preference test to determine the interest of the children in using the app and a proficiency test to determine the ability of the children to use the app. We observed that 5% children aged two and three years, 25% children aged four to six years, and 55% children aged seven and eight years were interested in playing with the app. The children below the age of seven years were overwhelmed by the interplay of real and virtual objects displayed on the screen, and did not prefer playing with the app. Alternatively, the seven and eight year old children were able to use the app and were enthusiastic about it. However, the seven and eight year old children required 39.78% more time to use the app when compared with a similar app without aug- mented reality. We concluded that children develop skills necessary to use augmented reality software by the age of seven years. We recommend that augmented reality be used in educational apps for children aged seven years and more to enhance their learning experience.