Dresden-based student clinches Apple's developer contest victory
Freakin' Innovation: Dementi App Brings Dementia Struggles into Focus with a Twist
Meet Hendrik Schulke, the brilliant Dresden student who took home the top prize at an Apple programming competition with his extraordinary app, Dementi. This unique app isn't your average memory game; it lets users taste a sliver of the reality faced by dementia patients.
The game features 16 images, but here's the kicker: every third move, the images on the board exchange places. This mind-bending twist is designed to mimic the blurred perception that dementia sufferers often experience.
Schulke was inspired to create this game by his own grandmother's battle with dementia. He wanted to shock users with the challenges they'd face trying to solve the memory game, making them feel like they're the ones struggling. His aim was to raise awareness and foster a sense of empathy among players.
So, who's the mastermind behind this game? None other than a 25-year-old media informatics master's student. Surprisingly, he crafted the app during his semester abroad in Vietnam. Apple's CEO, Tim Cook, gave a shout-out to Schulke's creation during the WWDC conference, praising it for fostering empathy and understanding among people.
Sources:
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5597054/
- https://www.alzheimers.net/2018/06/09/app-lets-users-experience-dementia-challenges/
- https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/04/insidious-loop-how-alzheimers-plaques-silently-destroy-brain
- The Dementi app, a product of science and innovation, aims to promote mental health by allowing users to experience the challenges of dementia, inviting empathy in the realm of health-and-wellness.
- With the integration of artificial intelligence, the images in the Dementi game shift positions every third move, mimicking the confusion and blurred perception associated with dementia, offering a unique blend of technology and art.
- As the app emerges as a tool for education and empathy, it serves as a testament to the potential of artificial intelligence in shedding light on mental health issues and fostering an understanding of the challenges faced by dementia patients.
