Two computer games designed for autistic children as part of a collaboration between MotionInput Games and the National Autistic Society are now available to download and play.

MotionInput Superhero Sportsday and MotionInput Watersports are available on the Microsoft store to download and play for free. The games were tested during the development stages by autistic students from Sybil Elgar School, in West London, and Helen Allison School in Kent. Teaching and therapy teams from the schools contributed information and ideas to make the games fun and useful for autistic children.

Both games are set in the beautiful and colourful island of Mauritius and feature a range of sporting and watersports events, including windsurfing, hang-gliding, cycling, swimming, kayaking, jetpack flying and diving. The games are designed for Windows gaming laptops, and use a webcam to track movements and children can play with interaction by the movements of their head, body and arms.

A team of Master’s and undergraduate students from MotionInput Games, a spinout from UCL Computer Science, steered the development of the touchless computing games. The technology uses Artificial Intelligence (AI), computer vision and machine learning, which recognises players and how their gestures or expressions relate to actions during gameplay.

Professor Dean Mohamedally of UCL Computer Science and CEO of MotionInput Games said: “Bringing in AI enhanced interactions is so important for SEND. Some of the movements that we modelled were really based on what the children felt were the most compelling movements in their play. Especially the swimming levels, where the children got to experience it easily by moving like they were swimming, was really special to bring to them. “

Tess Steventon, Occupational Therapist at Sybil Elgar School, said: “As Occupational Therapists we support the children and young people with their coordination and developing new skills. It has been a privilege to be involved with the development of MotionInput Watersports – a revolutionary game which will help students learn to participate in sports including swimming and kayaking”

Marius Byleveld, Accessibility and Innovation Coordinator at Sybil Elgar School, said: “It’s exciting to see how MotionInput software is transforming the way our students interact with technology, enhancing computer accessibility for those who don’t use a mouse, keyboard, or joystick.”

Marie-Louise Holmberg, Assistant Principal at Helen Allison School, said: "At Helen Allison School, it has been such a pleasure to be a part of this dynamic project, developing meaningful software for the pupils we teach. The innovative use of AI to directly meet the needs of our students, while engaging them in such motivating worlds, will have such an impact on their learning and development. Our pupils had the opportunity to test the MotionInput games in class and had a wonderful day, giving the UCL students direct feedback, to enhance their projects from experience. We are so excited to continue our relationship with UCL as a part of this collaboration."

Sybil Elgar School and Helen Allison School continue to co-supervise more innovative MotionInput projects with the UCL Computer Science Department, including:

• A winter version of Superhero Sportsday.
• An Augmented Reality reading application that summarises text and generates 3D models from stories.
• A Sensory Room app that matches lighting to music.
• A range of new interactive AI games and learning apps based on the feedback of the children and our new games team.

Further information

• Read our news story about the trailblazing AI software used by our schools.
• Visit the MotionInput Games website.
• Visit the Sybil Elgar School website and Helen Allison School website for the latest news, information and events.
• Read more about our education and children’s services.