Samsung Espana has partnered with Cheil Worldwide Spain to create an AI app for people with autism that autonomously turns down the volume on fear-triggering sounds without canceling out noise altogether. The smart noise-management app works in real-time to enable people to manage individual sounds to best suit their needs.
Conceived of, designed, and developed by Cheil Worldwide Spain, the “Unfear App” was launched during World Autism Acceptance Week last month and is available in Spanish and English language with a global rollout planned over the course of this year.
As described in the Google Play store, where it is available for download: ” The barking of a dog, the siren of an ambulance or fireworks could trigger nervous breakdowns, panic attacks and loss of concentration to 1 in 100 people in the world… Until now.
Unfear is a beta app that uses artificial intelligence to protect, relax and assist the ASD collective and people with hearing hyper and hyposensitivity so that they can live free in a noisy world.”
Autism affects around 70 million people globally and many people with autism have auditory sensitivity which can lead to discomfort and anxiety in reaction to certain sounds. The solution is often noise-canceling headphones that block out all sounds which leads to complete audio isolation.
“The Unfear project is the result of synergies and commitment between all the actors involved. It is pure ‘technology with a purpose’ that since its inception has actively involved end users,” said Alfonso Fernandez Iglesias, chief marketing officer and e-commerce director at Samsung Electronics.
“After months of testing with autism entities, we are especially excited with the results obtained. Hence, we want to raise awareness about autism, the daily challenges of those who live with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and, finally, a technological solution that can change their day-to-day life for the better”.
Alejandro di Trolio, executive creative director at Cheil Worldwide Spain, added, “With Unfear, we’ve gone beyond existing noise cancellation technology and taken advantage of advanced AI technology to prevent autistic groups from having to isolate themselves.
This advanced AI selects and filters through machine learning and reduces the noises that cause panic attacks in autistic patients. In this way, when it comes to noises outside (sounds of sirens, dogs barking, fireworks, etc.) and in your mobile (gaming, video, social media), the algorithm acts as a kind of sound airbag.”
Malcolm Poynton, global chief creative officer at Cheil Worldwide, stated, “In a world flooded with chat about AI, Samsung’s Unfear is perhaps the most exciting and practical use of advanced AI today.
It demonstrates Samsung’s belief in the power of Technology with Purpose and Cheil’s unique ability and DNA for creating meaningful, cutting-edge digital, gaming and mobile innovation. This stuff matters and I couldn’t be more proud of the support Unfear offers for 70M people with ASD globally.”
Research and testing for the app was conducted in partnership with ten Spanish autism organisations – Autism Madrid Federation, Catalan Autisme Federation, Asperger New Life, Nuevo Horizonte Association, Cepri Association for the Research and Study of Mental Deficiency, ADISGUA, Guadarrama Association for People with Disabilities, SumateA and Sur Madrid Autism Spectrum Disorder – as well as over 100 ASD patients and their families.
You can download Unfear on Google Play here.
