NaoBlocks: A Case Study of Developing a Children's Robot Programming Environment

Abstract

Developing a robotics system can be a complex process, with competing requirements between programmers and end-users. This paper presents a case study on the development of NaoBlocks, a block-based programming environment that allows children to program a Nao robot. NaoBlocks was developed over three phases, with feedback from the end-users (children) guiding the process. Lessons learnt include providing feedback often and early, keeping the editor simple, making the environment robust, allowing override functionality and allowing progressive functionality.