Alzheimer’s Vic and Opaque Multimedia have launched a crowd funding campaign to help people with dementia. Called The Forest Project, it claims to be breaking new ground using virtual sensory therapy. This involves the senses in different ways by creating feelings of safety, novelty and stimulation which are all under the user’s control. It utilises video game technology in Smart TVs to create a virtual reality room that both stimulates and engages through interactivity.
It was developed by Opaque Multimedia, a Melbourne based digital design studio that specialises in applying video game technologies to novel domains. By getting behind the initiative supporters will be helping to break new ground in the use of visual sensory therapies for people with dementia, said Opaque Multimedia director, Norman Wang.
Alzheimer’s Australia Vic, CEO, Maree McCabe said while the first interactive virtual experience is a forest “we will look at a variety of other possibilities, such as a beach or even a seasonal Christmas themed scenario.”
The project is expected to be released on multiple platforms early next year.
To support the campaign visit: http://posible.com/virtualforest4dementia