Opportunities and Challenges in Using Tangible, Teleoperated Voice Agents in Kid-Driven Moments in Play Among Families with Neurodivergent Children

Child-agent interaction research has largely focused on automated voice agents, although privacy concerns and quality of interactions serve as a rationale for using teleoperated agents in some settings. Research on neurodivergent children's interactions with voice agents has largely focused on therapy and classroom contexts as opposed to home contexts. We conducted a remote case study via Zoom observing six families with neurodivergent children playing with a tangible, parent-operated voice agent at home for up to eight weeks. We used quantitative measures of agent utilization, qualitative analysis of video recordings, and parent survey responses to identify implications for teleoperation interface design for playful voice agents. Based on our analysis, we argue joint media engagement principles are applicable to a broader set of play activities, and teleoperated agents present affordances and challenges distinct from those of automated agents.