Demented elderly people are not always good at asking for help when they need it. E-motion chair has therefore developed a cushion that can measure stress. Not wanting to burden vulnerable elderly people with testing this cushion, the researchers tested it with the crew and panelists at ESNS in January. After this test, the entrepreneurs worked hard to apply the collected data and feedback in the development of the new prototype. At Into the Great Wide Open, they tested the new cushion on volunteers.

During ESNS, E-motion chair conducted a stress test on 33 crew and panel members who sat on the cushion. They were given a quiz in front of them with fairly simple questions, and occasionally a question that caused stress. For example, they were asked to sing a song or solve a difficult math sum. The cushion actually seemed to pick up stress.

At Into the Great Wide Open, the entrepreneurs placed 3 chairs unattended “in the wild,” at the remaining chair, the volunteers were asked to act out different movements. The data they collected provided them with input to have algorithms recognize patterns. This makes it possible to understand emotions of people who can no longer express them with words. The sensors worked well. Occasionally there was difficulty connecting, but this was mainly due to location, so the cushion was also a success on a technical level.

In 2023, E-motion Chair won the Anner Award and took third prize at the Rabo Entrepreneur Award.