Lamb: An Interactive Playful Lamp Enhancing Parent-Adolescent Interactivity

Revolutionizing Family Relationships Through Gamification

Lamb is the first of its kind in Hong Kong, combining multidisciplinary practices with gamification theory to tackle the issue of mobile phone overuse. The design team recognized the importance of physical collective play in stimulating emotional connectivity between parents and adolescents. By engaging in these interactive games, families can relive joyful memories of activities before the mobile overuse problem emerged.

The play platform of Lamb consists of four major components. The table, assembled using ready-made components, includes a mobile charger, a wooden framework, a plastic container, and a vibration-activated timer. The lamp itself integrates a bulb, LED display, motion sensor, and Bluetooth module into a 3D printed housing, providing random game play instructions. The game card book contains six stacks of competitive games, catering to both physical competence and intellectual challenges. Additionally, a gaming record book and an operation manual accompany the lamp.

With dimensions of 520mm x 400mm x 1030mm, Lamb operates on a power supply of 220-240V. It features an output inductive charging of 3 x 5W and a light bulb output of a maximum of 13W. These technical specifications ensure optimal functionality and performance.

The lamp's operation is simple and intuitive. Family members are encouraged to rest their phones on the play platform for charging. Once all phones are placed on the charger, the lamp brightens and displays a smiling expression, inviting the family to play. By waving a hand over the lamp's sensor, the LED display suggests random games from the game card book. Players can then draw a card from the suggested stack and engage in various competitive games, each with specific time constraints.

The development of Lamb began in January 2016 in Hong Kong and has since garnered recognition and accolades. The research work associated with this design was presented at the 1st Asia Pacific Conference for Addiction Professionals and the Asia Design Engineering Workshop in 2017. Ongoing development and refinement of the prototype are planned in collaboration with the Integrated Centre on Addiction Prevention and Treatment of Tung Wah Group of Hospitals in Hong Kong.

This research project explores the impact of collective play on parent-adolescent relationships and the mitigation of mobile phone addiction. By incorporating gamification theory and interactive product design, Lamb offers a tangible and engaging experience that strengthens family bonds and fosters positive psychosocial development in adolescents.

The design team faced several challenges throughout the project, including identifying ideal formats and types of physical games that would stimulate affective involvement and responses from parents and adolescents. Additionally, recruiting families willing to test the play platform and provide feedback was crucial. Lastly, ensuring economic and efficient batch production of the play platforms and game cards was essential for responsive deployment and ease of upgrade.

Lamb has been recognized for its innovative approach and received the Bronze A' Design Award in the Lighting Products and Fixtures Design category in 2018. This prestigious award celebrates designs that exhibit strong technical and creative skills, contributing to improvements in quality of life and making the world a better place.