IoT for Autism: New Tangible Multimedia System for Special Education and Training

London, February 15, 2016 Assistive technology company Filisia announces the launch of its first product, Monoma.

Filisia has created a smart modular device and software that use games and musical expression to make learning of those with special education needs fun, tactile and interactive. ‘’Special education and training can often be very repetitive and boring for students. They feel demotivated and isolated. This ultimately results in need for greater intervention by therapists and more time and costs associated with special education.” Says Georgios Papadakis, CEO, Filisia Filisia are committed to help children and adults with conditions such as autism, cerebral palsy or brain injury, among others. It has taken two years of thorough research, testing and collaboration with 80+ therapists, special educators, and students to design Monoma.

‘’Monoma is great for students with autism who are more visual learners, as it incorporates sound and light and it is immediate, without requiring any verbal explanation. It is very simple, but the activities develop it into something complex to support expression and multimodal learning.’’ says David Shiel, music therapist at the Garden School in London. Monoma is a set of multimedia tactile controllers that use dynamic sensors, light up, and can take any colour. Monoma software is a series of 14 interactive games and musical exercises that use sounds, colours, lights and music and are designed by therapists, special teachers and artists. Monoma is modular and can be fully personalised. Carers use Monoma units both in solo and in group student activities. Students can play memory, storytelling, social, turn taking and physical exercise games.

The first of its kind data analytics system provides unique quantitative insights on the session while the students are engaged in creative play. Therapists can now track the progress of the students with a variety of metrics including logical reasoning, memory, reaction time, turn-taking skills, but also motor abilities, such as endurance, force and speed and width of movement. Therapists and educators find that Monoma can be used as a:

• recreational tool that fosters accessible musical expression and trains socialisation skills
• cognitive training tool that supports the training of attention, memory and reaction to stimuli
• physical training tool that encourages motor coordination and physical exercise
• assessment tool that applies machine learning to adapt to the needs of the students and provide unique therapy insights.

Join Us
Anyone can be part of Filisia’s story by supporting them on their Crowdcube crowdfunding campaign (www.crowdcube.com/filisia). Find out more at our website (http://filisia-interfaces.com/)

About
Filisia Interfaces is an award winning assistive technology company based in London. Our vision is to enable people of all abilities and ages to learn, play and express themselves. We have received international distinctions in health and social entrepreneurship by Ashoka, the European Investment Bank, Impact Hub, Clinton Global Initiative University, Stanford University and the UK Trade and Investment.