Audio Reality
Sector
Product Design
Industrial Design
Awards
IF Design Award 2020
Design a mixed reality system that helps people with special needs deal with social situations they may find difficult.
The thought for this project came from our observation that there was a lack of mixed reality use cases that actually benefited peoples lives. Typical use cases tend to be gimmicky and are used once to minor excitement, think QR codes that spawn a dancing avatar using audio devices combined with camera inputs to help people with day to day situations.
We researched and created a list of use cases that could provide real life benefits. Following this we settled on devices that helped people with special needs lead the life they would like to lead. The two areas we areas we targeted were Alzheimer’s/dementia and autism.
From various desk based research and by talking to people who suffered with these conditions we developed a set of devices that would help users deal with social situations they may otherwise find difficult. The devices use a camera to scan the world and pick up on situations the user may need help with. The devices then provide audio feedback to help the user deal with these situations, this can either be triggered by the user with a touch or played automatically. The device provides a safety net for the user to help them without the need of a career.
Designed to either blend in a and feel more like an item of clothing or to stand out and empower the user , audio reality devices help people deal with situations they may otherwise struggle with.
