Thesis Update April
4/12/20
I investigated into more VR Autism apps that are out there for people to download and use.
Here are some of the videos I found so far:
Brain Power — Uses converted google glasses to help kids detect emotions and trains eye movement using AR. The images are overlaid onto the users perspective. The images look like 2D graphics. This is a company that has been increasing in popularity and in research, since 2013. The company is backed by a solid team of Doctors and medical professionals that serves as an advisory board. It looks like they are venturing into new technology incorporating Ai and machine learning into their products.
Floreo — This is a company that uses VR on a mobile device and focuses on joint attention for children with autism. Joint attention is a term used in psychology that defines two people engaged with an object in some form of communication. Non — verbal, verbal, eye gazing, gesturing can all be categorized as a form of communication.
Beam — Projection mapping. Similar to the Dynamicland interactive projections, Beam uses a similar technology for children with ASD. Not entirely clear on the objective of this company. There is an educational aspect to it, where kids can engage in games geared for social play and interaction, but not sure if the intention of the tech is supposed to be used for this. There is an entertainment value to this type of experience and it looks like the company is moving more into the space of entertainment for McDonalds and other larger corporations.
After looking at some of the existing applications, I did what was suggested from last week and drew out sketches:
I wanted to play around with the idea of using geometric shapes and finding a way to animate shapes. I got into the idea of using origami structures, mainly from architectural drawings. I am thinking of playing around with the idea of giving abstract geometric shapes a “personality”. I want to see what it’s like to put behavior onto a shape or pattern.
