The DCitizens project has participated in Instituto Superior Técnico’s Open Day, reaching 2000+ visitors on April 19th. The DCitizens team have joined the Interactive Technologies Institute’s stand sharing the project’s developments alongside European projects such as LoGaCulture and Bauhaus of the Sea Sails, also coordinated by the Interactive Technologies Institute.
The project was represented by Isabel Neto, Katharina Buckmeyer and Patrícia Piedade, who presented their research projects, currently being developed within the scope of the DCitizens project.
Isabel Neto presented Touchibo, a modular robotic platform for enriching interpersonal communication in human-robot group activities, particularly designed to promote connections between children with and without visual impairment.
Katharina Buckmeyer engaged with the visitors by showcasing her research on multisensory smart storytelling soft toys to improve the emotion regulation of children. She integrates Snoezelen principles in the toy design, developed to be used in kindergarden activities. It can provide interactive companionship, help children navigate separation anxiety, offer comfort during distress, and promote emotional regulation through tactile, auditory, and visual stimuli.
In turn, Patrícia Piedade has presented the PartiPlay project, a participatory game design kit for neurodiverse classrooms. This project has created a board game from the contributions of a neurodiverse classroom, where the input allowed the development of a board game that neurotypical and neurodivergent children can enjoy. From that game arose a kit that allows neurodiverse communities to create their own co-designed game.
