Top Five List
With the first step towards my primary research for my thesis topic, I created a user observation session that involved five people of a certain demographic (ages 60+) to interact with a toy dog. This was not just any toy dog, but one that supposedly* has over 100 interactions and can respond to 12 voice commands that simulate what an actual dog might do.
I purposely chose a sample of users to test that were of the age of 60 or older because I was working under the assumption that these demographic might be more sympathetic to people with mobility issues that might keep them indoors or lead a less active life.
I created a list of post observation question that revealed the following common responses found during my observation session:
- Participants could see this toy as a tool to help make a decision for pet ownership.
- Participants could see this product evolving into something more advanced and life-like in the next 5–10 years.
- Participants could see this someday evolving into a companion.
- Participants expressed disappointment in the way the commands had to be phrased.
- The idleness of Georgie when it wasn’t following a command displeased some participants.
*As advertised but haven’t seen that many: https://www.amazon.com/Georgie-Interactive-Plush-Electronic-Puppy/dp/B01CSEHZQ2/ref=sr_ph_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1508737380&sr=sr-1&keywords=georgie+puppy
