By Michelle Jana Chan
LONDON, England (CNN) -- Pick me! Pick me! The weakest children may no longer be left out of playground games. New technology may help to put kids on a more level playing field, which may in turn motivate them to learn and encourage competitiveness. Using modern artificial intelligence and robotics, new playground games can recognize a child's behavior and respond accordingly -- in real-time -- to make the game harder or easier.
Lund and his team came up with 'intelligent tiles', a grid of pressure-sensitive floor tiles for playgrounds. Each tile has a small computer inside it, which measures the force of the child's foot and responds with either colored lights or sounds. One game, called 'Bug smasher', provokes children into chasing lit 'bugs'. When a bug lights up, the child must tread upon the surface of the tile and smash the bug. They are rewarded by a comical, smashing sound.
Intelligent Playgrounds read on.....