31510Proof of concept for a novel IoT system that offers a cost-effective and productivity enhancing learning support system for children with special education needsClosedCollaborative R&DInnovate UKThis proof of concept feasibility project, underpinned by participatory design, will research, design and develop an OliTool prototype system for user-testing with special needs children in primary school. Incorporating stakeholder feedback from the outset, OliTool will be an innovative adaptive learning IoT system comprising a sensory tangible user interface and a companion app for children with SEN challenges, particularly ASD, ADHD and/or anxiety. It aims to meet the need for a cost-effective SEN support tool with features that help: * Children learn to regulate sensory needs, and understand and communicate behaviours and emotions in real-time to adult supervisors; * Supervising adults gather valuable data for assessments and evaluations. Ogenblik Ltd are the developers of OliTool, a next generation interactive tangible user interface connected to a personalised app. The current prototype was trialled successfully on adults with anxiety at Exeter University in a six-week trial. OliTool draws on behaviour change practices and cognitive behavioural therapy to help identify troublesome behaviour patterns and triggers and support behaviour change. The Exeter trial demonstrated proof of concept and offered important insights into user needs and preferences and barriers to adoption. Additional feedback from psychologists, health professionals (including leading clinicians at Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust), educators and parents suggested that developing OliTool for children presented a strong business opportunity. The concept of OliTool for children was further tested on a cohort of Year 4 children to positive results at a West London primary school. The vital next step for Ogenblik, and the focus of this application, is to redesign OliTool for SEN children with a particular focus on attention and hyperactivity disorders, autism and anxiety. Current provision for SEN children is largely based on direct interventions by SEN specialists, teachers and other experts employing primarily analogue SEN resources. Robotics, virtual reality and gamification approaches, such as Milo, Floreotech and MyCognition, are being explored, but few digital resources provide an engaging haptically enabled physical interface. Experience with EdTech and eHealth has shown that engaging technology can engender cost efficiencies. For example, research has shown that internet CBT is just as effective as in-person CBT while reducing provision costs by up to 40%. Text-based CBT has also been demonstrated as efficient and cost-effective. OliTool, a non-screen based discrete tangible user interface and personalisable app, leveraging evidence-based SEN support techniques, offers a novel cost-effective tool for assessment, intervention and evaluation for SEN children. Crucially, it provides educators innovative methods to improve SEN provision.