The Horizon 2020 project SISCODE (Society in Innovation and Science through CO-Design) saw the involvement of 17 inter-sector partners from around Europe coordinated by the Department of Design at the Politecnico di Milano.
The goal of SISCODE was to explore the use of co-creation processes and tools to involve citizens and other actors in designing more responsible innovation capable of leading to the policy changes requested by society.
More than 150 transverse co-creation case studies in different areas were analysed in the project. Ten pilot projects were also carried out to develop concrete solutions capable of responding to a series of local problems: a new plan to reduce atmospheric pollution, a recycling system to create new products in a circular economy, solutions to fight food waste developed by a collective of local designers, a permanent learning programme to improve active citizenship by elderly people, a new programme on precision agriculture for advanced professional schools, an annual festival dedicated to designing boats to take advantage of the potential of the Tagus River in Lisbon, programmes to improve the mental health of young people by drawing on their hobbies, co-design tools to support public decision-makers, and even cultural performances to explore artificial intelligence with the public.
Milan, in particular, tested BODYSOUND, software created for physical reactivation exercises. Based on dancing and the transformation of movement into sound, it is aimed primarily at children with motor difficulties.
The software underlying this system uses a body-tracking system to calibrate the exercises based on the child’s mobility, monitoring motor coordination and the time and frequency of alignment, recording and comparing the precision and speed of the movements.
The project was conducted within the research activities of Polifactory, an interdepartmental lab at the Politecnico di Milano.