LONDON & SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Method, a GlobalLogic company, today announced the introduction of F.I.N.E. (“FINE” – Feeling Insecure Nervous Emotional), a collaborative research and design platform investigating how design and technology can play an active role in supporting mental wellness. The idea, developed as a proof of concept, seeks to explore how strategic design, advanced software technology, and machine learning are brought together to help address a pervasive and important societal issue, mental health.
According to The World Health Organization, 300 million people suffer from depression. Mental health issues affect one in four adults in their lifetime and one in ten children/teens. FINE investigates ways to identify the progression of mental illness and track the early signs of depression, anger and anxiety. FINE explores new ways of working to aid mental health, using design thinking, machine learning, and the principles of crowdsourcing.
“FINE is a great adventure into understanding our main form of communication – our facial expression – through the use of AI and digital technology,” said Dr. Emilios Lemoniatis, both Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist, as well as the Digital Innovation Lead at The Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust. “Through accelerated learning we could use this system to translate some of our most subtle fears and concerns that are sometimes so hard to pick up in clinical work. Its role in mental health and wellbeing could change the way we do our work without leaving behind our humanity.”
Designed by Method, the Strategic Design division of GlobalLogic, in collaboration with The Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust, FINE is made up of three components that form a prototype solution ecosystem: 1) A ‘hub' that reflects the collective mood of a family or workplace and is designed to trigger conversations to break the taboo that it’s better to hide your feelings; 2) A software application designed to track multiple inputs to monitor and promote mental health and mood over time; and 3) the Empathy Engine is the driving force of innovation behind FINE. The FINE platform was a finalist in the “Health” category for Fast Company’s 2018 “Innovation in Design” awards.
The Empathy Engine is a public beta web application in the form of a game which anyone can play. The game uses facial recognition technology to read human responses to emotional stimuli, the stimuli is recorded in a database and trains a machine learning algorithm to respond to a human user in an empathetic way.
FINE illustrates how design-thinking and technology can lead to the creation of innovative new digital solutions and services that are sensitive to emotional needs – and might in the future be able to tailor highly personal experiences to detect and possibly counteract the negative impact of depression, anxiety or anger on a person’s mental health.
“Method and GlobalLogic are committed to creating a better world through design and technology,” said Alvaro Marquez, Chief Creative Officer, Method. “We believe there's a huge potential for user-centered design and technology to contribute positively to the human experience. Our work on FINE is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to new ways of understanding healthcare in the 21st Century.”
A crowdsourcing initiative is part of the public beta introduction, with the goal of building the foundational database, and training the machine learning algorithm to become a unique empathetic AI. Anyone wanting to learn more or help build the database can access the FINE website here.
FINE is a prototype platform created as a design and technology research initiative. It is not a commercial healthcare product or proven as a solution for the treatment of mental health issues.
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.@method_inc Introduces FINE Empathy Engine: A Beta Platform for Tracking Emotional Wellness. #MakeADifference #MentalWellness
.@method_inc and @GlobalLogic are committed to creating a better world through design and technology. #MakeADifference #MentalWellness
FINE by @method_inc explores new ways of working to aid mental health, using design thinking, machine learning, and the principles of crowdsourcing. #DesignThinking #MachineLearning #CrowdsourcingForGood #FutureofAI #MakeADifference
Useful Links:
FINE: https://go.globallogic.com/Method_FINE.html
Empathy
Engine: https://teachingempathy.ai
Method:
http://www.method.com
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/method_inc
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/methodinc
LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/164953/
GlobalLogic:
http://www.globallogic.com
About Method:
Method is a strategic global design firm. We create value and impact through the design of meaningful brands, digital products, and service experiences. As businesses need to navigate uncharted territories, we use design as a strategic tool to understand customer needs, discover new opportunities, make the right decisions, accelerate time to market, and drive the digital transformation process. Together with GlobalLogic, Method’s parent company, we provide design and engineering services at scale from over 30 locations across 12 countries. www.method.com
About GlobalLogic:
GlobalLogic is a leader in digital product engineering services. We help our clients design and build innovative products, platforms, and digital experiences for the modern world. By integrating strategic design, complex engineering, and vertical industry expertise – we help our clients imagine what’s possible, and accelerate their transition into tomorrow’s digital businesses. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, GlobalLogic operates design studios and engineering centers around the world, extending our deep expertise to customers in the communications, automotive, healthcare, technology, media and entertainment, manufacturing, and semiconductor industries. www.globallogic.com
