EntamAR, how augmented reality improves the daily lives of hospitalized children

EntamAR is an app that uses Augmented Reality to improve the daily lives of children with long-term stays in hospital. Through creative games using drawings and images, this interactive app enables the volunteers of Spanish Red Cross Youth to promote the creativity of children while supporting them in their different academic and leisure pursuits.

The EntamAR project is an initiative that is jointly managed by the Spanish Youth Red Cross and the Fundación Tecnologías Sociales TECSOS (a Foundation created by Spanish Red Cross and the Spanish Vodafone Foundation to develop impact-driven technologies). 

The design of this app began at the end of 2017, through a process of technological innovation involving volunteers of the Spanish Red Cross, families and health professionals.

EntamAR is available on mobile phones and tablets and can be used by children and volunteers to access three types of games:

• Room design | Children can virtually incorporate 3D and 2D images and drawings in order to decorate their own room or other areas in the hospital as they like. Once the room is seen through the cell phone’s camera, these drawings appear on the screen.
• Trivial | Children can answer questions on any subject prepared and personalized by the Red Cross Youth volunteers.
• Escape Room | Through virtual elements and with the help of clues, children have to solve riddles and puzzles.

For the implementation of the project, a pilot test was first carried out in two hospitals: HUCA in Oviedo (North of Spain) and La Fé in Valencia. After a first phase, during which results from the pilot were collected and analyzed, meetings were held with the volunteers to find out their opinions on the application and also understand the perspective of the children.

As a result, changes suggested in the meetings were made and then a rollout implementation strategy was carried out across the entire country, by which all Hospital Centers had the opportunity to join the project.

Impact is felt by both the children, as direct beneficiaries, and by the families and the volunteers. Within the framework of this project, EntamAR offers a fun and educational activity as well as fostering creativity and, above all, making the hospital a more child-friendly environment by helping to create a sense of ownership of the space.

Entamar expects to serve hospitalized children throughout Spain with a total of 59 hospitals in the Hospital Animation project of Red Cross Youth. The number of volunteers in the project is 1,767, present in 59 hospitals and with 36,265 children.