Advances in artificial intelligence and computer vision are creating new opportunities and challenges for educational and day care environments in early childhood. Contemporary video recognition systems can already detect movement, activities, interactions, emotions as well as behavioural patterns. Therefore, the focus in service design and developmental psychology is no longer ‘what can be detected?’, but ‘what should be detected?’ and ‘how?’, resulting in an interprofessional joint focus on ‘for whose benefit’’ and ‘at what cost?’.

This interdisciplinary course offers an opportunity to explore how computer-vision-based services might support young children, parents and professionals in Early Childhood Education and Infant Mental Health. What are their actual needs? How are these needs addressed in existing nursery and day care concepts? How can research on early childhood development contribute to the design of meaningful and ethically responsible services, products, spaces? Where could intelligent systems improve safety, reduce workload or support child development and care – opposed to their intrusive, controlling or even harmful aspects?

Working in interdisciplinary teams, students will develop a ‘Research through Design’ project by establishing a theoretical foundation, review and align relevant findings, conduct user research in collaboration with relevant stakeholders, and develop prototypes through an iterative design process. The prototypes will be evaluated through child adequate ‘user testing’ supported in collaboration with our partner Fröbel gGmbH regarding Kita ‘Am Volkspark’.

The aim is not simply to propose new technological applications, but to investigate their practical value, developmental implications and ethical boundaries through design based on a psychoanalytic understanding of early childhood.

Prof. Dr Susanne Hommel, PhD.

Professor for Psychoanalytic Intervention for Children, Adolescents & Families

TransferProfessor ‘Early Intervention in Nursery and Day Care’

Department of Social and Educational Sciences

&

Prof. Reto Wettach

Professor for Physical Interaction Design and Service Design

Department of Design