Dr Aviva Cohen, CEO and co-founder of seamlessCARE, a University College Dublin (UCD) digital health spin-out, is among those filmed as part of the Irish Universities Association (IUA) second My Uni Life series.

The IUA partnered with RTÉ and New Decade to create this nine-part series which was filmed over the course of academic year 2022/23. The documentary series provides a unique and authentic insight into campus life and the experiences of students, staff, entrepreneurs, and innovators across the country, as they navigate the challenges and opportunities of a typical university year.

The weekly series will air on Fridays at 8pm on RTÉ One/RTÉ Player beginning on February 16.

Dr Aviva Cohen, CEO and co-founder of seamlessCARE.

Uses artificial intelligence

seamlessCARE, a NovaUCD and Enterprise Ireland supported company, has developed and launched Empathic, an app which uses artificial intelligence (AI) to interpret the emotions being expressed by non-verbal individuals.

Using the Empathic app, anyone can make a short recording to understand if the non-verbal person is expressing happiness, boredom, frustration or up to 10 emotions. This can help to improve quality of life for the non-verbal person and reduce the challenging behaviours that can result from frustration.

seamlessCARE, was co-founded in 2021 by Dr Aviva Cohen, Dr Cagri Cubukcu and Ian Kennedy as a spin-out from the UCD School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering following the completion of Enterprise Ireland commercialisation funding.

In Episode Four of the second series of My Uni Life airing at 8 pm on Friday, March 8, Dr Cohen meets with Isabella who is using the seamlessCARE technology to communicate with her loving mother Sam.

Dr Aviva Cohen, CEO and co-founder, seamessCARE, said: “We are thrilled to be included in the second series of My Uni Life that will air on RTÉ One starting later this this month.

Entrepreneurial journey

"The episode on March 8 features two of our wonderful collaborators, Isabella and her mum Sam, who have been testing and using our Empathic mobile app. Huge thanks goes to them and to everyone who participated in Empathic’s design, development and testing. Many thanks also to NovaUCD, Enterprise Ireland and our investors who continue to support us on our entrepreneurial journey.”

seamlessCARE has recently launched Empathic Professional for healthcare and home care providers. This has been tested extensively by service providers who reported significant benefits. The company has also recently opened a new funding round which is attracting interest from potential investors in Ireland, UK and internationally.

Jim Miley, director general, IUA, said: “It’s great to be back on campus for the second series of My Uni Life to show first-hand how our universities are providing exciting opportunities and a life-shaping experience for students. We also get a ‘bird's-eye’ view of the working day of some of the 20,000 staff in our universities and the impact of our colleges on their local communities and regions.”

Further information on the second series of My Uni Life can be found on www.iua.ie/myunilife2.