Tralee creativity to help teenager

A TRALEE man will appear on this Wednesday’s Big Life Fix show on RTÉ One, using his talent and creativity to help the life of 15- year-old Josh Garvey from Dublin.

Josh is from Rathfarnham and has Down’s syndrome and is non-verbal. He uses a tablet to communicate, but it’s heavy, the volume is low, and it’s full of distractions.

The show aims to help come up with a new way of communicating, and the task has been given to Tralee man John O’Donnell. The games designer has been asked to come up with a communication system for him that streamlines everything and allows him to express himself, at home, at school and in his all-important drama class.

John has a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering, and a Masters in Electronic and Computer Engineering, both from University College Dublin.

Although from Tralee, John’s now based in Copenhagen, where he works as a Game Designer at a start-up.

Along the way, the rugby and music aficionado has been involved in the wearables and ‘Internet of Things’ space, as well as rapid and iterative prototyping for creative applications.

The RTÉ series itself, Big Life Fix, challenges a group of leading designers, engineers, computer programmers and technology experts to create inventions that will transform people’s lives.

Filmed over the course of a full year, the group uses cutting-edge science and technology to build practical solutions for those who need their help. This week is John’s turn.

A scene from the show.