This paper presents the first results of the user involvement in the development of robotic systems to support play in children who, because of their disability, cannot or are severely limited in their play. The European project IROMEC (interactive Robotic Social Mediators as Companions IST-2005-2.6.1) will investigate how robotic toys can become social mediators, encouraging children with disabilities to play and to interact. Some of these children are unable to play autonomously due to their impairment and/or disability. The project has deliberately set out to develop the required functionalities for such systems prior to formulating product specifications. This results in a set of scenarios in which robot systems can be given a proven meaningful purpose. Together these scenarios form a framework for robot systems supporting social play, its target population and expected outcomes. From this framework the most promising scenarios will be prototyped.
