Dezeen School Shows: a virtual reality device to improve productivity for people with ADHD features in this school show by students at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

Also included is and a self-service restaurant in Hong Kong and an AI-powered storytelling platform for children.

Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Institution: The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
School: School of Design
Courses: BA (Hons) In Communication Design, BA (Hons) In Environment and Interior Design, BA (Hons) In Interactive Media, BA (Hons) In Product Design, Integrated Designpreneurship (InD) under BA(Hons) Scheme in Design, Master of Design and MSc In Multimedia Entertainment and Technology
Tutors: Brian Kwok, Daniel Elkin, Dr Yi-teng Shih, Scott Chin, Chi Wing Lee, Jane Ngai, Dr Tulio Maximo, Dr Brian Lee, Frederic Gooris, Benny Leong, Kam Fai Chan, Prof Stephen J Wang, Dr Huaxin Wei, Dr Clifford Choy and Dr Pui Keung Anthony Kong

School statement:

"PolyU Design, a renowned hub of design education and research in Hong Kong since 1964, is proud to present a captivating showcase of exceptional student projects.

"This exhibition highlights the remarkable creativity, technical prowess, and interdisciplinary approach that defines the school's legacy.

"The school's unwavering commitment to design theory, research and application, as well as the promotion of interdisciplinary collaboration, have consistently placed it among the top 20 in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings by subject – art and design.

"Across bachelor's, master's and doctoral levels, the diverse academic programmes at PolyU Design have empowered students to push the boundaries of design, resulting in human-centric, culturally-driven projects that embrace the latest technologies.

"This school show features a selection of projects showcasing expertise in branding, infographics, user experience and user interface design, artificial intelligence, game design and product solutions applying cutting-edge technologies.

"From seamless transportation experiences and memory-evoking devices to educational products, healthcare solutions, and mixed-reality content creation, these projects showcase the breadth and depth of design expertise cultivated at PolyU.

"Visitors are invited to immerse themselves in this captivating display of innovation, where the convergence of diverse disciplines paves the way for a future shaped by visionary design.

"Click here to view the showcase in full."

The Seamless Experience of Hong Kong's Integrated Transport by Chun Hin Henry Yip

"The various private transport operators in Hong Kong currently provide fragmented travel experiences.

"The information and experiences are not circulated or integrated across different modes of transportation and operators, which results in information gaps for passengers – this can cause passengers to feel lost and confused when transferring between different transport services.

"The project aims to improve the overall transportation experience, both internally and externally; the goal is to design a seamless, coherent and consistent journey through unified branding and an integrated transport system.

"The designer proposed a series of unified identities for bus, metro and ferry under the brand of 'transport for Hong Kong', applying a colour scheme that is widely adapted on items like wayfinding totems, dynamic schedule displays, staff cards and other touchpoints.

"Transport for Hong Kong unifies the different transport modes and operators into one integrated institute – this presents a modern and smart image of the city and provides a seamless experience throughout the entire journey, without confusion or information gaps in between – watch the video here."

Student: Chun Hin Henry Yip
Course: BA (Hons) in Communication Design
Tutor: Mr Brian Kwok

CogniCare by Wing Yu Crystal Cheung and Wai Man Mandy Lam

"For centuries, dementia has been a devastating disease with catastrophic impacts on sufferers and their families. In Hong Kong, the elderly population is particularly vulnerable to this condition.

"Studies suggest that prevention is more effective than a cure and that technology may play a role in this. Research also indicates that Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) precedes dementia and MCI status is reversible.

"Although the dementia stage is irreversible, there are steps we can take before people develop dementia. The MCI stage may be the best period to prevent dementia.

"As a result, we have developed an interactive installation called CogniCare to assist people with MCI who have high mobility to delay the progression of dementia, allowing them to maintain their normal cognitive abilities at home for as long as possible by playing through an interactive device.

"CogniCare is an interactive installation designed for people with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) to train their memory and mobility, and to stimulate their brains earlier in order to slow down the progression of dementia; in addition to the interactive installation, we will develop a mobile application that can be paired with it – MCI patients' family caregivers can use this application to monitor patient utilisation and interact with the MCI patients."

Students: Wing Yu Crystal Cheung and Wai Man Mandy Lam
Course: BA (Hons) in Interactive Media
Tutor: Ms Jane NGAI

(M)3 by Tsz Kei Krystal Wong

"Unlock ADHD potential with (M)3 – ancient spatial memory meets modern mixed reality, bridging virtual to real.

"(M)3 is a project that creates a virtual reality (VR) environment to leverage the visuo-spatial abilities of adolescent students with ADHD to strengthen their working memory and focus, utilising a simplified method of loci.

"A VR workspace designed for adolescents with ADHD, where users create and navigate a virtual environment to improve memory and focus.

"Interactive and immersive, it allows users to place virtual objects or tasks in specific locations for later recall and review.

"The controller is a dual-purpose device that both navigates the VR space and assists with task management. It minimises distractions and replaces smartphones, with task reminders, progress tracking and an intuitive interface."

Student: Tsz Kei Krystal Wong
Course: BA (Hons) in Product Design
Tutors: Dr Tulio Maximo, Dr Brian Lee and Frederic Gooris

Roamly by Supitcha Jutatungcharoen

"An AI lateral thinking game that improves creativity and productivity.

"Modern work challenges impact the wellbeing of professionals in the creative class – overwork and stress lead to poor mental health and negative emotions, hampering productivity and creativity – crucial and highly demanded skills for staying relevant and succeeding in a workforce impacted by artificial intelligence (AI).

"To address this, Roamly is an AI-powered lateral thinking game designed to boost productivity and creativity through play.

"By providing relief and emotional regulation, Roamly taps into the power of positive emotions to stimulate the mind and generate new, creative ideas.

"The game leverages AI to present players with thought-provoking scenarios that challenge them to think laterally, exploring unconventional solutions and perspectives."

Student: Supitcha Jutatungcharoen
Course: BA (Hons) in Communication Design
Tutors: Benny Leong and Kam Fai Chan

Light-Tracing: A Novel Approach for Mixed-Reality (MR) Content Creation by Lu Chen, Yining Ge, Ruilin Huang, Zhengchun Jia and Chi Ma

"This light tracing system reduces the cost of learning and using mixed reality environments by integrating light painting with Mixed Reality (MR) environments using a robotic arm, which can simplify user input, reduce jitter noise, facilitate resizing and enable path light painting through the intelligent coordination of the robotic arm.

"It employs a 'human-in-the-loop' approach, allowing users without 3D modelling expertise to control the robotic arm directly, producing 3D trajectories to be translated into a digital model.

"This type of interaction opens up new possibilities for the future in areas such as urban planning, healthcare and education.

"This project is a deliverable from the Intelligent Systems Design (ISD) Lab Studies subject delivered over 13 weeks in semester two, providing students with a practical and experimental platform for experiencing a hands-on development process for constructing functional intelligent systems.

"Watch the video here."

Students: Lu Chen, Yining Ge, Ruilin Huang, Zhengchun Jia and Chi Ma
Course: Master of Design (Intelligent Systems Design)
Tutor: Prof Stephen J Wang

SAVEing by Mak Tsz Yan Angela

"A children financial management package – SAVEing is a financial management app that motivates users to save money by offering virtual pet adoption upon reaching savings goals.

"It is a finance management suite with a pet-themed focus, targeted at children from primary schools to junior secondary schools. Users can adopt virtual pets in the programme and receive relevant rewards upon achieving various savings goals, encouraging them to properly care for their virtual pets and motivate them to save.

"The design of SAVEing includes a physical smart card case that pairs with the cardholder to provide real-time spending tracking, allowing users to record their expenses even without a mobile phone during school hours. The device's card reader collects data from the user's public transportation card and automatically synchronises it with the application.

"SAVEing also provides a negotiation platform that allows children and parents to discuss and set appropriate savings goals.

"It enables parents to use NFC-enabled physical stamps to approve the goals, and issue wish coupons to encourage children to participate in the app's financial courses or complete tasks set by their parents."

Student: Mak Tsz Yan Angela
Course: BA (Hons) in Interactive Media
Tutor: Dr Huaxin Wei

Storrala by Zixuan Feng, Bichen Niu, Sim Kun Wong, Zhixin Zhang and Huayang Zheng

"An AI children story creation platform – Storrala is an innovative AI-powered story creation platform designed for children aged three to six and their parents.

"It addresses the need for engaging, personalised and interactive storytelling experiences in an increasingly digital age.

"By leveraging AIGC technology, Storrala allows children to craft personalised stories, transforming them from passive listeners to active creators. The platform offers two creation modes: one based on public domain IPs and a sandbox mode for open-ended creativity; with a child-friendly interface and advanced AI, Storrala promotes parent-child interaction and boasts competitive advantages in customisable content, interactivity and scalability.

"Storrala's business model encompasses subscriptions, in-app purchases and advertisements.

"The team behind Storrala brings together expertise in toy design, UX, product management and interaction design, positioning the platform for success in the growing children's digital content market."

Students: Zixuan Feng, Bichen Niu, Sim Kun Wong, Zhixin Zhang and Huayang Zheng
Course: MSc in Multimedia Entertainment and Technology (currently renamed as MSc in Innovative Multimedia Entertainment)
Tutor: Dr Clifford Choy

True Nod by Shuyu Chen, Christina Yaxuan Fan, Angelina Not, Xinrun Wu and Bohan Yang

"Unveiling the people-pleaser phenomenon: are you always trying to keep everyone happy, even at your own expense?

"The concept of True Nod reveals deep implications in social interactions – unconscious agreement and lack of independent thought; in today's society, conformism is prevalent, particularly among Asian youth who over-seek approval and meet others' expectations, often ignoring their own needs. This behaviour can lead to personal stress and negatively impact teams and organisations.

"This project explores this phenomenon and aims to show its negative impacts. The design team adapted the story of 'The Little Match Girl' to a modern context, making the narrative relatable through a unity-based VR animation; it presents the story in a 360-degree immersive puppet theatre scene. This approach aims to vividly convey the essence and impact of conformism and resonate with the audience through the characters.

"True Nod allows for an immersive exploration of conformism, enhancing audience engagement and encouraging independent thinking and autonomy in our youth through the convergence of art and technology."

Students: Shuyu Chen, Christina Yaxuan Fan, Angelina Not, Xinrun Wu and Bohan Yang
Course: MSc in Multimedia Entertainment and Technology (currently renamed as MSc in Innovative Multimedia Entertainment)
Tutor: Dr Pui Keung Anthony Kong

Reminiscences: mnemonic device by Wing Hei Vinci Wong

"This project delves into the entanglements between memory and space. A person's perception of a place develops through direct observation and memory; images and photography can serve as a bridge, connecting these two modes of experiencing a spatial context after the fact of immediate experience.

"Working from this idea, this project presents a unique device designed to explore how memory recall and direct observation can interact to provide a new perspective on a spatial context.

"The process of creating images through the device embodies an interplay of dualities, blurring the boundaries between past and present, remembrance and questioning.

"The resulting images possess a quality that is simultaneously reflective and meditative, encouraging a discourse on the nature of experience and memory. This discussion embraces subjectivity and ambiguity, recognising that memories are inherently personal and diverse.

"By leveraging the interplay of memory and direct observation, the project invites the viewer to reconsider their relationship with the spaces they inhabit. It challenges conventional notions of how we perceive and remember our surroundings, opening up new avenues for exploring the multifaceted connections between the self, the built environment and the fluid nature of recollection. Watch the video here."

Student: Wing Hei Vinci Wong
Course: BA(Hons) in Environment and Interior Design
Tutor: Mr Daniel Elkin

Dim Sum Wong by Chun Kit Layton Wong

"A new unmanned way of operating dim sum restaurants: dim sum culture has long been a tradition in Hong Kong, with places serving evolving from tea shops to restaurants and specialty shops.

"However, modern Hong Kong presents challenges for dim sum operators, including limited space, insufficient local resources and the need for new ideas to enhance customer experiences.

"To address these issues and sustain the dim sum culture, a new model is proposed: the unmanned dim sum shop.

"This 24/7 self-service model allows customers to select and dispense their preferred dim sum using a machine, which also acts as a steamer container – customers can then prepare and steam their dim sum at a self-service table bar and each pre-made dim sum can be ready in ten minutes, providing a convenient and delicious experience.

"By automating many onsite services, this model reallocates valuable human resources to other duties that can add further value to the business. This innovative approach aims to help sustain Hong Kong's beloved dim sum culture while introducing novel experiences to customers."

Student: Chun Kit Layton Wong
Course: BA (Hons) in Product Design
Tutors: Dr Yi-teng Shih, Mr Scott Chin and Mr Chi Wing Lee

Partnership content

This school show is a partnership between Dezeen and Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.