Interbots is excited to announce the launch of BeSeen, an iPhone app that we helped to develop for Carnegie Mellon University’s Information Networking Institute and Web Wise Kids. BeSeen is a single-player game set in the simulated social network of a fictional high school. By posting status messages, commenting on their friends’ statuses and solving puzzles, the player wins awards and makes new friends. Ultimately the goal is to teach children ages 11-14 responsible online behavior including securing their personal information, posting appropriate content and treating others courteously.

Gamasutra recently published a nice overview of the project.

BeSeen is available for free download in the iTunes Store. An Android version will be available in December. Check it out!

We’ve released a new iPad app! It’s called Touch & Say and is designed for young children aged 1-4 as well as children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) who may have developmentally delayed social skills.

The app provides six activities that allow children to practice the following social skills:
* Verbalization
* Emotion recognition
* Color recognition
* Following directives
* Directed gaze (a key step in developing joint attention)

These activities are based on the exercises developed for our pilot study with the Autism Center of Pittsburgh. While the pilot study centered around our Popchilla robot, this app is designed for standalone use – no robot required! It’s free to download in the iTunes store – get it today!