Anti-loneliness quilt for sick kids is a decent use of AR, at last

Anti-loneliness quilt for sick kids is a decent use of AR, at last
Might look low-tech but it's not

If you ever spent time in hospital as a child, you'll know how horrible it can be to be so far from home, unwell and surrounded by strangers.

A young designer by the name of Joshua Barnes has come up with a cosy patchwork quilt that uses augmented reality tech to deliver comforting messages from mums and friends through the medium of animal characters.

How does it work? Animal characters are patchworked on to the quilt, each of which can be assigned to a friend or family member. They then leave messages for the patient, who can use a smartphone or tablet to access them using Arusma's AR tech.

That might not sound to warm and fuzzy but research has shown that the combination of these heartfelt messages, and the physical element of holding and cuddling the quilt stop the child from feeling lonely. What a lovely, lovely idea - and one that won Barnes a Future Pioneer award from the Design Council.

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Former UK News Editor for TechRadar, it was a perpetual challenge among the TechRadar staff to send Kate (Twitter, Google+) a link to something interesting on the internet that she hasn't already seen. As TechRadar's News Editor (UK), she was constantly on the hunt for top news and intriguing stories to feed your gadget lust. Kate now enjoys life as a renowned music critic – her words can be found in the i Paper, Guardian, GQ, Metro, Evening Standard and Time Out, and she's also the author of 'Amy Winehouse', a biography of the soul star.