BodySound | SISCODE

SISCODE is a project funded by the European Commission (Horizon 2020) aimed at stimulating the use of co-creation methodologies in RRI (Responsible Research Innovation) and in Science and Innovation Policies. Coordinated by Politecnico di Milano, SISCODE is composed by a multidisciplinary consortium of 17 partners from 13 different European countries.

Polifactory is one of the 10 co-creation labs (Fab Lab, Living Lab, Science Museum) which in different countries are working with design-based approaches to co-create and generate knowledge in different real-life areas. Each lab has chosen a challenge to face and for which co-design different solutions. The results of the 10 pilot projects will then be compared to define a series of scalable and replicable co-creation methodologies. These methodologies will also be shared with local policy makers with the aim of connecting them with citizens.

Within SISCODE, POLIFACTORY wants to explore the potential of co-design and user innovation (innovation conducted and produced by the user) in the field of health and well-being.

The pilot project is aimed at creating a physical / digital design platform that allows different subjects (stakeholders) to interact and collaborate through the use of co-design processes and enabling technologies.

For the realization of the pilot project, POLIFACTORY collaborates with FightTheStroke (FTS), a social promotion association that supports families are facing their children stroke and cerebral palsy diagnosis.

BODYSOUND: SISCODE pilot project

The pilot project investigates the physical-motor needs of children diagnosed with cerebral palsy and explores them according to proprioception principles with a specific attention to the translation of movement into sound stimuli.

BODYSOUND is a system focused on physical reactivation of limbs based on the transformation of movement into sound. Within a sensor room, children can perform a “choreography” and transform it into a “melody”. The room is able to detect the child’s movement and to send, through a wearable device, a haptic feedback to guide him/her in executing the movement “correctly”. The technology used is ambient based: the environment detects movements through a simplified motion capture system capable of collecting anthropometric data and sending real-time haptic and sound feedback to the child.

Co-design process

After a first definition of the challenge with the association FTS, we implemented and conducted an online survey, to deepen the knowledge about activities and needs of children diagnosed with cerebral palsy and their families. The collected answers have constituted a first database used by POLIFACTORY to organize the following co-design workshop.

The co-design activity with parents was organized in four phases, starting from a reflection on the needs up to the visualization of some solutions. In the end, each participant was assigned with a diary where they were asked to draw, tell, plan, imagine, the next steps of BODYSOUND.

In the second part of the day, a workshop with the children was conducted; the workshop was organized in 4 activities thanks to which we could explore the technological and sound dimensions, with the aim of observing the degree of interest in musical activities, testing different devices and interfaces in order to be able to carry out a preliminary analysis of the user experience, starting from the age of the child and the effects of the pathology on their movement.

From the first co-design day, 14 ideas emerged, which were the basis for a pre-definition of BODYSOUND system’ components.

During the second day of co-design with the parents of FTS association, the project team investigated the various components of the system starting from a series of ideas and case studies with the aim of defining them and consequently designing a first interpretation of the User Experience.