Shpaco is a interactive therapy game that helps to recognize 3 qualities - colors, shapes, and patterns. The playing mat with soft buttons is played with 2 persons. Every button combines 3 qualities and each color/shape/pattern occurs twice on the mat. The instructor stands on one button and child finds the matching colour/shape/pattern.
Tutors: Kristi Kuusk, Anna Maria Ülviste
Consultants: Martin Teng, Paul Urbel
Interactive therapy game for the hospital's sensing room
ShPaCo
Social design project in collaboration with
Children Mental Health Hospital in Tallinn
The electrical scheme consists of Arduino microcontroller, LEDs, transistors, resistors, wires, soft buttons, on-off buttons and power cable. This is the most important physical part of the project. If the electrical scheme was cardiovascular system, Arduino was brain, the power cable was heart, wires were blood vessels. Every part is important and depends on others.
Electrical schemes
Consultant: Martin Teng
Children with educational special needs, e.g. those with autism spectrum, often have difficulties with generalization ability. The game helps children to learn to recognize different qualities of one item and to match them with one another. Blinking lights are interesting enough to help a child to focus on the game.
WHY?
BUTTONS and LED-s
Every soft button has 3 qualities: shape, colour, and pattern. Shapes and patterns are not identical to improve generalization ability. For choosing the game to play you can find red buttons on the wooden box. LEDs are used in 2 different ways: single LED-spots and light tubes.
GAMES
It's possible to play 4 different games. Introduction game: lights come on if a player stands on a button. Matching games: teacher stands on a button and asks the child to find matching shape, colour or pattern. In the case of correct answer, LED-s start blinking.
It's possible to combine games as well.
The idea
How it was made
The base of the mat is made from 2 layers of recycled felt. Wires are hidden between 2 layers. For LED-s and soft buttons holes are made inside the top layer. Soft buttons are made from polyurethane foam and conductive fabric. In the project 3 blocks of LED-s are used: single LED-s, light tubes and indicator lights for on-off buttons. To protect the Arduino microcontroller it is covered with a box made from plywood. On the same box you can find buttons to choose the matching game. The mat is covered with silk-screen printed fabric that is washable.
Materials
 |  |  |
|---|---|---|
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
 |
 |  |
|---|
