Smart Toys, Smart Tangibles, Robots and other Smart Things for Children

Smart toys are regarded as able to offer possibilities to develop social, cognitive, and behavioural skills (among others); however, while appealing, such claims are not yet substantiated by rigorous and sufficient scientific evidence. The first edition of the workshop on Smart Toys, Smart Tangibles, Robots and other Smart Things for Children took place at the 19th Interaction Design and Children Conference (IDC’20), bringing together experts from different fields working on smart technologies for children. Following the workshop, participants were invited to submit their work to this Special Issue in the International Journal of Child Computer Interaction. Together, these contributions address relevant issues in the emerging areas of smart toys and interactive technologies for children, offering different approaches and perspectives, such us as guidelines for the prototyping of innovative Toy Interfaces; guidelines to support the design of inclusive technologies for children with special needs, design considerations about the social aspects of the experience with the technology, concerns of data protection and children’s understanding of data. This editorial introduction draws attention to the great potential and need for furthering research on the field to unleash the potential that the new generation of smart toys and related devices may bring.