Tarkett, a global manufacturer of ‘sustainable and innovative’ flooring solutions, will demonstrate the use of VR-EP (Virtual Reality Empathy Platform) at Design in Mental Health 2019.
The company explained: “This innovative, evidence-based dementia filter is a tool used to simulate the effect of dementia on vision. Combining 30 years of evidence-based research with state-of-the-art technology, VR-EP allows users to convey, experience, and understand, environments through the eyes of someone living with dementia.”
Visitors to the Tarkett stand will be able to ‘learn about the importance of colour, contrast, pattern, and placement when creating or adapting spaces which can compensate for perceptual and cognitive impairments, alongside the principles of good dementia design for supporting spaces that reduce resident anxiety and prolong independence for as long as medically possible’.
‘Knowing the rules of good dementia design, and then learning how to apply them to interior spaces’, are key in achieving positive outcomes such as reduced anxiety, easier navigation, and a reduction in slips, trips, and falls.
Tarkett will showcase the ‘VR’ software on stand 130. A Tarkett speaker, Segment Marketing manager, Elizabeth Butcher, will also deliver a keynote speech at 1.45 pm on the event’s first day – 21 May – discussing ‘the theory of dementia design’ as part of the DiMH 2019 conference, in the Dementia Theatre.
Tarkett will meanwhile be hosting the ‘Value of Good Design Networking Breakfast’ on the event’s second day – at which delegates will be able to meet with Tarkett representatives over breakfast to discuss dementia design theory in further detail, discuss design options and mood boards, have a VR-EP demonstration, and ask any questions raised by Elizabeth Butcher’s keynote speech.
