Abstract

The paper presents an artificial life robotics inspired modular approach, which leads to applications in play, learning and health for the benefit of society. The approach is based on decades of research in the co-evolution of bodies and brains in natural and artificial organisms. In order to ensure intrinsic motivation among users to engage with the applications, the applications are created to become playful with the Playware ABC. The Playware ABC concept works for creating technology solutions for anybody, anywhere, anytime by using embodied artificial intelligence building bodies and brains, which facilitates that users can themselves manipulate with the technology solutions to construct, combine and create their own solutions, which is obtained with the modular approach. The paper describes a number of such modular systems and their real world applications in play, learning, and health. Further, the collateral effects of play with these applications are described from both qualitative and quantitative studies. In the health applications, there are significant results from randomized controlled trials which document fast and high effects on physical functional abilities and cognitive skills amongst seniors, children and patients playing with one of these applications, namely the Moto Tiles. The significance of these results has led to the worldwide distribution of applications based on the artificial life robotics inspired modular approach.