New motion-based technology being developed at TCD could use games to help screen motor skills development in children

New motion-based technology is being developed at the School of Computer Science and Statistics in Trinity College Dublin, the University of Dublin, to support early functional screening of gross motor skills development in children.

Research is being carried out to design, develop and evaluate MotorSense, motion detection games, which will screen children’s motions while playing and aid the early detection of potential gross motor development issues.

The research is a collaboration between the School of Computer Science and Statistics and Microsoft Ireland, with the involvement of the Learnovate Centre in Trinity College Dublin, one of Europe’s leading research centres in learning technologies. It will be unveiled at the Learnovation Summit at Croke Park on October 1.

Motor development is the process by which children acquire movement patterns. Gross motor skills involve large muscles performing everyday functions, such as standing, walking or running as well as eye-hand coordination skills like throwing, catching or kicking. There is evidence that suggests improvement of motor skills impacts cognitive development.

It is hoped that, when developed, MotorSense would speed up early detection and intervention for children with motor skills issues. In the future, it could be used in schools and at home to help teachers, parents and carers monitor the development of children. Motor development delays could be identified and professional help sought at an early stage.

It would support – not replace — healthcare professionals by providing them with additional and frequent data sets on the child’s development leading to more appropriate and timely responses.

The research is being carried out by Dr. Benoit Bossavit and Prof. Inmaculada Arnedillo-Sánchez, Principal Investigator, at Trinity College Dublin and commercial mentor Dr. Kevin Marshall, Head of Education for Microsoft Ireland. It is supported by the Learnovate Centre in Trinity College Dublin and funded through Career-FIT, a trans-national scheme co-funded by Enterprise Ireland and the European Union.

The project will be unveiled at the Learnovation Summit at Croke Park next Tuesday (October 1). Learnovation is an annual one-day EdTech summit to examine how technology is changing the face of workplace learning and education.

Learnovation is organised by The Learnovate Centre, in partnership with Regional Skills Dublin and sponsored by Own the Room. The Learnovate Centre is one of Europe’s leading research centres in learning technologies, based at Trinity College Dublin.

Funded by Enterprise Ireland, The Learnovate Centre is an industry-led technology centre made up of expert researchers using emerging technology to help transform the lives of learners in the workplace, schools, at third level and in the home.

Dr. Benoit Bossavit, who will present and explain the project at Learnovation, said:

“Formal assessment tools are used by professionals to determine whether children’s motor skills are developing according to their age and developmental stage. Assessment is done on a one-to-one basis and normally involves professionals observing children performing loco-motor tasks, which is costly and relies on sufficient availability of professionals. This compromises early-detection and delays timely intervention.

“MotorSense will provide a suite of games that will require children to perform tasks aligned to motor development skills – running, jumping, hopping etc. While children play the games, their skeleton will be observed on a screen and MotorSense will detect their motions and see if they are completing the tasks according to their development stage. This would allow for potential issues to be identified early and appropriate professional help sought if needed.’

Dr. Kevin Marshall, Microsoft Ireland’s Head of Education and a member of Learnovate’s Industry Steering Committee and Career-FIT Commercial Mentor, said:

“Microsoft Ireland is delighted to support the CareerFIT programme with Trinity College Dublin. Collaboration between higher education and industry is key to the vitality of Ireland’s economy. Companies harness the innovation and creativity in higher education institutions, while universities benefit from the real-world commercial experience of successful organisations.”

The theme of this year’s Learnovation summit is Future Ready Skills – connecting talent, skills and performance to accelerate growth.

At the launch of Learnovation Learnovate Centre Interim Centre Director Peter Hamilton said:

“The Learnovation Summit brings together learning professionals, educators and technologists to explore the skills we need now in our schools, universities and workplaces to position Ireland optimally for a future of work that rewards creativity, curiosity and innovation.

“The EdTech sector in Ireland is very dynamic and exciting, building on the strong international tech sector presence and skills in the country along with a new and exciting, indigenous, fast-growth start-up sector. Learnovate has relationships with 110 companies and organisations in Ireland to act as a hub to interconnect this sector and help drive its growth.”

Jonny Parkes, Chair of Learnovate’s Industry Steering Committee, said:

“The Learnovation Summit is a key date in the calendar for the learning technology community in Ireland and continues the Learnovate Centre’s support for Irish companies developing learning solutions for a global market – a sector that continues to punch above its weight globally”.

Some of the other 27 speakers at Learnovation will include a keynote talk from internationally-renowned author Amy Brann, founder of Synaptic Potential, an organisation that works with companies to strengthen their strategy, culture and performance. Amy will speak about the link between neuroscience and organisational performance, a subject on which she has written several books.

Other speakers include Wendy van Tol, PwC Consulting Leader from the Netherlands who will look at human value in the workforce in the digital age; Bill Hoogterp from Own The Room, Barry Murphy from Airbnb and Martyn Farrows of SoapBox Labs.

Attendees will include those passionate about the design and delivery of learning such as learning and development managers, educators, learning providers, entrepreneurs, innovators, trainers, start-up founders, learning designers, policymakers, and researchers.

Learnovation will take place at Croke Park on Tuesday, October 1 from 8.45 am to 4 pm. For more information, visit www.learnovation.ie