TACT project

Project objectives

TACT (“Thought in Action”) is a research project, funded by the 6th Framework Program of the European Community under the NEST-Adventure programme. The aim of the project was to develop a series of non-intrusive and easy-to-use technological aids, together with a new investigative methodology to extract as much information from children's movement and gestures. The purpose of TACT was to analyze intentional actions typical of childhood, in particular actions with a communicative intent (gestures, looks, etc…) by means of sensorized toys capable of extracting kinematic parameters from movements but also of measuring the type of grip with the hand, both in terms of force exerted and hand configuration. In order to explore the emotional world of the child, some toys were designed to respond to certain types of manipulation with sounds and melodies whose complexity varied with the complexity of the movements themselves. TACT also planned to develop innovative systems to monitor complex communicative actions such as vocalization and gaze in the child. The long-term goal was to provide these devices to clinical centers that normally do not have access to advanced technologies for monitoring movement and gaze, and also directly to families in order to obtain valuable elements for early diagnosis of disorders of neuro-development with possible benefits also in the therapeutic field.

Official Website: tact.unicampus.it

Start and end date

2006 - 2008

Project Manager

Prof. Flavio Keller

Coordinating institution of the project

Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma

Other Institutions involved

• University of Edinburgh
• Uppsala University
• IRCCS E. MEDEA - "Our Family" Association
• Sant'Anna High School, Ecole Polytechnique Federal de Lausanne (EPFL)

Funding source(s).

European Commission (FP6-EU-NEST-ADVENTURE 2005)