Tovertafel

Tovertafel ("Magic Table") is a games console designed for use in healthcare settings that was launched in 2015 by the Dutch medical technologies company Active Cues. The console contains a high-quality projector, infrared sensors, a loudspeaker and a processor with which interactive games are projected onto a table. The console has been developed for people with cognitive challenges in care institutions, daycare, public libraries and schools. There are variants for various target groups, including people with dementia, people with an intellectual disability and children with a developmental disorder.

The device has been used in institutions in the Netherlands, Belgium, the UK, Ireland, Germany, France, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Australia and New Zealand.

Origins
The ideas behind the Tovertafel originated in 2009 from the PhD research of Hester Anderiesen. Anderiesen started her research at the faculty of industrial design Engineering (IDE) at Delft University of Technology. Ultimately, this research, in which she investigated how to keep people in the mid to late stages of dementia active, and to counteract apathy, led to a prototype of the device. The Tovertafel appeared on the market as a product in 2015. In the same year, Anderiesen also founded the company behind the Tovertafel, called Active Cues, based in Utrecht. Development was supported by the Dutch Game Garden.

Awards

 * Dutch Game Awards: Best Serious Game
 * Boer & Croon Management: Co-generation award
 * New Venture '15
 * PwC Social Impact Lab: scale-up
 * EIT Digital Challenge 2018
 * EY Entrepreneur Of The Year '18 finalist