“Adoption “New ideas and the pace of change in healthcare can lag behind other innovations that consumers experience every day,” says Yves Behar, an industrial designer and founder of the design firm fuse designPeople, Behar continues, get frustrated when they compare their experiences in clinics and hospitals to, for example, the consumer experience they have in an Apple Store. Behar’s belief that design can have a positive impact on people’s lives leads him to focus on what he calls “design for extreme audiences,” such as children, the elderly, the neuroatypical, and those with mobility impairments.
“A lot of design is about the comfortable middle part of life, when you’re happy, healthy and have money,” he says. “For me, design is most needed when change is most extreme.” One example is CourageAI learning companion robot designed for autistic and neurotypical children. “It’s proven to be incredibly useful for all kids, especially during the COVID pandemic,” Behar says.
Since its launch in 2022, the Moxie app has conducted over 4 million conversations with children, There was a 71 percent improvement in social skills such as assertiveness, social engagement and self-control for those who play with it regularly. Another fuseproject invention — and Behar’s favorite — is Robotic Crib SNOOThe bassinet mimics renowned pediatrician Harvey Karp’s method of soothing babies, which involves swaddling, soothing and swinging.
“The AI recognizes when the baby is squirming and screaming and starts making noise and movement in response,” Behar says. “It’s the first and only medical device that has received FDA approval for its ability to keep babies sleeping on their backs and prevent SIDS [sudden infant death syndrome].”
This article was published in the July/August 2024 issue of the journal Czasopismo. WIRED UK Magazine.