This project is a collection of tools created for people with varying levels of additional needs to be able communicate more easily with their family, friends and guardians. The name SLATE is symbolic of taking each day as it comes, and offers the user a clean slate from which to communicate. A core aim is to produce tactile kinaesthetic experiences that are engaging and tactile.
The SLATE Daily Routine card deck is an initial exploration into the field of accessible design. It is the formalisation of a semiotic language that can be used to communicate routine by arranging activities in the order of your morning or evening routine. The SLATE Emotion Communication Cube further expands the scope for learning through the addition of physical computing elements. It is a visually engaging tool that, through the use of tactile touch sensitive buttons, gives the user the ability to communicate their emotions. The project at large continues to explore the many ways in which physical computing can be used to enable children and young adults with learning disabilities to be able to engage with the people around them, their learning and the world at large.
