For the fourth time, the Digital Responsibility Award honours companies, non-profit organisations and public institutions that go beyond legal requirements to take responsibility in the digital space. The HNU team FLOAT impressed the jury with a concept that strengthens digital participation while promoting a reflective approach to AI and digital tools.
FLOAT: A student project with social impact
Students Jennifer Bell, Emil Judin, Kevin Bruno, Lars Gohde, Sebastian Dreschmann and Marius Maucher developed the game as part of a project during their third semester. In FLOAT, players discover an imaginative world of floating islands inhabited by mystical creatures called Pookis. These creatures respond to gestures and invite players to solve puzzles, create new islands and maintain the balance of their world.
Virtual gestures, real impact: controlling the game
FLOAT is controlled via hand tracking on the Meta Quest 2, a virtual reality headset. Eleven primary human hand gestures – from a fist to an open hand – are intuitively integrated into the gameplay. Players wear a wristband that measures muscle impulses. The myoelectric data is analysed using AI and translated into usable movement patterns. The data is then anonymised and securely transferred to the medtech start-up MyoMod, which uses it to develop smart prostheses. The aim is to use playful interaction to build up an AI-supported data pool that facilitates or even automates the individual adaptation of prostheses.
Significance of the award
The BVDW Digital Responsibility Award is one of the most important awards in the field of responsible digitalisation in Germany. The award ceremony took place during the Digital Responsibility Conference and honours projects that combine digital innovation with ethical responsibility.
