SENSAI
Problem: individuals and families affected by various mental illnesses have difficulty managing symptoms and navigating the world effectively.
Solution: SensAI is a multiple-phase mental health and wellness tool, backed by academic and user research, to bring agency and care to cognitively diverse individuals and their caregivers.
Partners: Michael Kaufman, Kyle Ezell, Matt Dean
Inspired by the winner of the American Planning Association’s 2019 Student Project Award, SensAI is based on user research conducted at The Ohio State University aimed at identifying needs and redesigning communities for people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). This research, which culminated in the creation of planning guidelines that have been implemented into city code all around the United States (and are now being incorporated in the design plans for Microsoft’s new campus), outlined a framework for inclusive design and revealed the need for a system that treats mental health with more than a one-size-fits-all mindset.
SensAI is an ultra-customizable, uniquely tailored system that uses crowd-sourced data and AI to help a user and their care team keep track of their mental health, navigate the world around them, connect with peers, and build knowledge.
It uses uniquely structured hierarchical networks that allow each user’s input to exponentially increase the power of the system as a whole, allowing for dynamic support and real-world scaling.
We were awarded seed funding from an accelerator in Columbus, Ohio (where the project began) to conduct initial user testing and build a minimum viable product. I served as the Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) and head of research strategy.
Though the project was ultimately put on hold due to limitations in start-up capital, it serves as a great reminder that accessible design - backed by research - can change the lives of vulnerable and neurodiverse populations who deserve support as much as the able-bodied and more privileged. Accessible design IS good design.
Graphics created by Michael Kaufman.