A mobile application providing a calming, virtual environment for overwhelmed special needs children captured the overall prize at the McMillon Innovation Studio's spring 2023 Demo Day. 

The app, Infia Serenity, pairs with virtual reality headsets and allows teachers and students to select various digital environments, including a sea of tranquility, a waterfall of wonder and a festival of lanterns. The custom-built digital spaces include calming sounds, music and a breathing guide. Users can also customize the environments' color temperature and saturation. 

Held twice a year, Demo Day is the studio's capstone event, showcasing the learnings and prototypes developed by student teams after a semester of guidance and mentorship. The spring event was held May 3 at Adohi Hall. Winners received gift cards to Prelude Breakfast Bar in Fayetteville. 

Jackson Ritchey, Serenity's founder, said he was inspired to develop the app after hearing from teachers in his family about issues with calming spaces in classrooms. 

"Since early high school I have wanted to work with virtual reality. To me, (it) bridges the gap between computer science, art and functionality," Ritchey said. 

Kendall Jasper, Ritchey's co-presenter at Demo Day, was also inspired to join Serenity thanks to a personal connection. 

"My little brother has Autism Spectrum Disorder, and I have become aware that there are several overlooked needs in the ASD community that need to be addressed," Jasper said.  

"I realized the potential of Serenity, and how revolutionary it can be in addressing this problem in the classroom." 

Children on the Autism Spectrum have a tendency toward emotional outbursts and classroom disruptions, Ritchy and Jasper said. These outbursts are "highly stressful" for the children, and when they occur at school, can impact other kids. Teachers and staff have responded by creating "calm down spaces" for the affected students, they added.

The Infia team visited calm down spaces inside classrooms at a local school, where they found students had access to small areas — typically between or inside a large cabinet — that were adorned with pillows and toys. Not all classrooms had space available to accommodate a distressed student.

Ritchey said the team is working to launch its beta app in the Apple AppsStore, and Serenity V.2 could be completed by the end of the summer. Serenity would then launch a full pilot in elementary schools during the fall 2023 semester.  

The Infia team also has been accepted into the NeuroIS Retreat 2023. Held in Vienna, Austria, the annual conference presents "research and development projects at the nexus of (information systems) and neurobiology," according to a call for papers for this year's retreat. 

Justin Urso, director of the McMillon Innovation Studio, praised Infia's "tremendous amount of progress" in the spring semester. 

"Jackson put in a lot of work … and a big part of their progress was building a strong interdisciplinary team that believed in the Infia vision as much as Jackson did," Urso said.  

"I can't wait to see their progress continue as the ceiling for Infia is extremely high and the impact they can make, even higher."  

Launched in 2016, the studio serves as an innovation hub to students across the U of A campus and works to develop future leaders, entrepreneurs and innovators by cultivating their creative mindset and connecting them to opportunities to make real-world impact.  

Students in the studio are given access to valuable mentorship and resources — providing further support to cultivate their creative skills and empower them to deliver impact innovation through organizational, social and entrepreneurial change. 

Spring 2023 Demo Day Winners 

ORGANIZATIONAL DESIGN TEAMS 

Nabholz 

• Scope: How might we attract more young people from all backgrounds to learn the skills of carpentry or equipment operators?  

• Project lead: Ethan Pingel, senior, mechanical engineering

• Team: Greyson Daniels, junior, entrepreneurship and innovation; Vivine Giramata, senior, civil engineering; Mason Moser, junior, finance; RyLeigh Werner, junior, supply chain management and economics 

PRODUCT TEAMS 

Infia 

• Scope: A mobile app that provides a virtual environment designed to calm down overwhelmed special needs students in the classroom.  

• Project lead: Jackson Ritchey, junior, computer science 

• Team: Yasmean Dehaghani, senior, pre-med; Kendall Jasper, junior, marketing; Aira Nagatsuka, sophomore, political science; Reira Shibata, sophomore, political science  

SOCIAL IMPACT DESIGN TEAMS 

New Beginnings 

• Scope: How might we leverage our community garden to further our mission? 

• Project lead: Brennen Beck, junior, strategy, entrepreneurship and venture innovation 

• Team: Ben Elliott, senior, strategy, entrepreneurship and venture innovation; Cooper Fulton, sophomore, accounting; Jen Iseman, senior, graphic design; Sophia Underwood, senior, business administration 

About the U of A Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation: The Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation creates and curates innovation and entrepreneurship experiences for students across all disciplines. Through the Brewer Family Entrepreneurship Hub, McMillon Innovation Studio, Startup Village, and Greenhouse at the Bentonville Collaborative, OEI provides free workshops and programs — including social and corporate innovation design teams, venture internships, competitions and startup coaching. A unit of the Sam M. Walton College of Business and Division of Economic Development, OEI also offers on-demand support for students who will be innovators within existing organizations and entrepreneurs who start something new.