Jocomunico, the app that speaks naturally

Jocomunico was presented at the UAB Research Park on 25 January.The free application is based on a pictographic system and addressed to people with speech impairments caused by cerebral palsy, severe autism or certain types of aphasia. It is the first social integration solution capable of easily transforming the telegraphic language of pictographs into natural Language.

The solution was developed by Joan Pahisa, PhD student in Computer Engineering and Natural Language Processing at the UAB, together with a team of six young professionals in computer engineering, telecommunications, translation and interpreting and fine arts. The project was funded jointly by the Adecco Foundation, Telefónica and Eriksson, through the Talentum programme.

Jocomunico is very easy to use. The application includes a complete system of pictographs which allows users to express a variety of ideas and actions. Once the images are chosen and put into order, the application transforms them into a natural sentence. For example, a set of pictographs such as "go", "school", and "tomorrow" will be transformed into the natural sentence of: "Tomorrow I will go to school". The application also allows users to personalise it by adding vocabulary, creating folders in which to prepare conversations and easily accessing a history of the most common phrases used.

The application is capable of transforming pictographic language into natural language in Catalan and Spanish and providing fluid communication between the emitter and receptor.

The application can be used with a touch screen, although it is also adapted for users with reduced mobility and can be used with the external buttons installed for other applications.

Presentation of the App at the UAB Research Park
On Wednesday 25 January at 10 a.m., the Jocomunico application will be presented by Joan Pahisa at the Eureka Building of the UAB Research Park. The presentation will consist of two parts. The first part will be addressed to the media and to research centres and professionals working in the field of augmentative communication. The second part will be a practical workshop on how to use the application and a round of questions from the audience.

Video of how Jocomunico works