FLUID.ai

FLUID.ai is a speculative, academic concept — not a market product — built to explore how affective computing might mediate communication in caregiving relationships, rather than to prescribe a deployable solution. It is an affective computing system designed to bridge the communication gap between non-verbal autistic individuals and their caregivers. Grounded in Picard’s (1997) definition of affective computing as computation that relates to, arises from, or deliberately influences emotions, the project departs from a central premise: internal emotional states often remain invisible. As Barrett (2017) argues, emotions have no universal expressions. They are constructed in highly contextual ways.

The system consists of two connected objects: a lava lamp-inspired ambient device placed in the patient’s room, and a companion watch for the caregiver. As the patient’s emotional and physiological state shifts, the lamp responds in real time through colour, light movement, and sound. The watch mirrors these changes through colour and haptic vibration, keeping the caregiver informed without requiring constant visual monitoring.

A sensitive mediator between a non-verbal autistic person and their caregiver. Translating what the body communicates but cannot say.

See more here: https://www.twine.net/signin