The strength of collaborative games is that they distribute activities between players and encourage them to work together to achieve a common goal. They promote social interaction, cognitive development, and can even improve the quality of personal relationships. All these benefits transfer directly to both children with disabilities and those without and have the potential for impact that goes beyond the child and extends into the community.
Project Circle team:
Advising team
Kyoung Swearingen
Scott Swearingen
Asimina Kiourti
Jamie Boster
Software team
Rae Waters
Emma Burns
Skye Winters
Dominic Camps
Yeoleum Choi
Engineering team
Andrew Holton
Willow Kim
Industrial design team
Catalina Munoz-Arias
The audience for Circle (our collaborative gaming platform) are children with moderate-to-severe cognitive and/or physical disabilities who experience difficulty with activities and often lose out on the benefits of playing with their families and caregivers. Using human body communication (HBC), Circle engages those with and without disabilities equally by normalizing the experience of play between them using touch as the primary input.
A unique approach to interactive play is incorporating the use of a wearable technology that capitalizes on touch via skin-to-skin contact through Human Body Communications (HBC). Using wearables and smart fabrics in collaborative gaming may redefine the design and use of wearable electronics for children with developmental disabilities such as autism.
The platform behind Project Circle is comprised of 3 parts: (1) the sensors, (2) the wearable, and (3) the software.
Project Circle Wearable
The wearable component of Project Circle is designed to capitalize on the value of touch via skin-to-skin contact. Project Circle