Every-sense

This work builds on Professor Paul Chamberlain’s highly successful tac-tile sounds system which developed a new multi-sensory product offering an holistic interactive environment for educational, therapeutic and recreational use by people with special needs including autism, dementia, and behaviour problems.

Every-sense products empower ‘users’ to take control through a range of new customisable interfaces and activities. Commercial production has followed directly from this research. 20 + products, software control, and user-interface were developed as part of the ‘Everysense System’ for ROMPA, a regional Small Medium Enterprise (SME) specialising in special needs products, in collaboration with special needs experts and software programmers.

The system, installed in 10 special needs centres internationally, has created employment and increased turnover for ROMPA. As a by-product of this project, his multi disciplinary connections in the field have been the key to establishing a series of publications of relevant expert papers distributed by ROMPA to their professional clients.

This industrial collaboration has led to significant knowledge transfer and has resulted in his further engagement in research and development with ROMPA and international exposure of his work. Together with several major international organisations and companies including Philips, Macmillan Cancer trust, Arup, Nightingale Associates a new initiative developing sensory environments was launched at the Healthcare Estates Conference 2007.

This work provides an exemplar of design research as a significant driver in the support and reconstruction of post-industrial regions. It is documented by Paul for an art and design research conference and by Roddis (Roddis 3). Chamberlain was invited to present the work as the single exemplar of Western European best practice at ‘Designing Designers. Milan 06.