Frank Hough and Calvin Buckley have turned an unimaginable tragedy into meaningful action with a positive impact. In 2023, Frank’s daughter and Calvin’s partner, Frankie Julia Hough, was the victim of a fatal road collision which not only cut her life short, but that of her unborn child, Neeve, too. It also left her sons, Tommy and Rocky, and her nephew Tobias with life-altering injuries.
Frank & Calvin delivering a road safety school workshop.
Frankie and Neeve’s Road Safety Academy
Determined to ensure their loss wasn’t in vain, Frank and Calvin set up Frankie and Neeve’s Road Safety Academy with the sole intent of making a generational change.
The academy’s focus is to educate the drivers of tomorrow (children) whilst influencing the drivers of today (their parents) in the dos and don’ts of road safety.
Tommy and Tobias’s school classes started by drawing their perfect road safety superhero. Then, with the help of their teacher, Mr Hanley-Wood, this led to them creating Roadbot.
Challenge
Frank and Calvin’s initial research suggested the best way to engage children with their message was to use channels, formats and technology they were already familiar with — something we at Corporation Pop are well versed in.
So, after hearing this tragic story, we offered to bring the children’s road safety character to life through augmented reality.
Recognising the creativity and effort Tobias’s classmates had put into designing Roadbot, we were super keen to collaborate with them on a co-design project.
Early drawing of 'Roadbot' by reception pupils at St Mathew's C of E Primary School.
Early drawing of 'Roadbot' by reception pupils at St Mathew's C of E Primary School.
Original artwork
To build traction and momentum with potential funders and supporters, we proposed an initial prototype for The Academy.
Acknowledging the charity was in its infancy, and believing wholeheartedly in their mission, we also offered to do it pro bono.
What initially impressed us was just how versatile the Roadbot character they created was. It presents as neither male nor female, and has no reference to age or race. Additionally, Roadbot’s wheels tie it to the subject matter: vehicles, driving and road safety, and we saw mileage in the traditional lollipop stop sign being used as a digital screen for additional messaging. We also loved that Roadbot has a pulsing heart, demonstrating that his heart is in the right place.
Artistic input
With over a decade of AR experience, Corporation Pop saw the tech’s potential for Roadbot and the Academy.
To kick the project off, our first task was to create a 3D model version of the final Roadbot design. Next, our art team worked diligently to bring Roadbot to life. They ensured it stayed true to the original drawing the kids created. Then, based on the kids’ feedback, we added additional personality traits, such as movement and a robotic voice. These helped to bring Roadbot to life.
The pupils original drawing, reimagined on the computer by their teacher.
3D model that stayed true to the original pupils design.
Augmented Reality
Happy we’d made good headway with the artwork, our developers cracked on with the AR tech. A quick point and tap, and a Roadbot logo (as drawn by the children) branded manhole cover appears in scene. It then slides back to reveal a vertical tunnel from which Roadbot appears.
We opted to use surface detection AR over a printed marker to trigger the experience, making it more user friendly and easily accessible. As a bonus, Roadbot can appear from ANY flat surface including walls and ceilings.
Once projected in world, Roadbot then spins around, introduces itself, and reels off its top five tips for road safety which are further enforced as illustrations on the reverse side of the spinning lollipop stop sign. The playful user interface (UI) allows users to change Roadbot’s size in world, with a simple slider mechanism. Kids can also pause, mute or restart the experience at any point.
Classroom road safety workshop
In future iterations, we will expand the Roadbot content to bring additional interactivity into the classroom.
The Roadbot road safety workshop will use the current functionality as an introduction then supplement it with more in depth interactions. The plan is to create four markers based on the images you see here, and each will trigger Roadbot to deliver specific safety messages.
During a workshop, a teacher will place the markers around the classroom and groups of children will use a tablet device to find and scan each in turn.
The image of a mobile phone will prompt Roadbot to deliver safety messages about the importance of switching phones off before driving. The child seat, likewise, will see Roadbot giving tips about using seatbelts, and so on.
Getting the kids up and out of their seats offers another layer of interactivity which will help embed the important messages of The Academy.
Short Roadbot 'intro' animation.
Why it matters
Roadbot is an important part of the Frankie and Neeve’s Road Safety Academy story and a milestone in its growth. It acts both as a tool to leverage additional campaign funding and a teaching aid for the kids using it.
By instilling these safety messages in children today, the Academy’s mission is to change the behaviour of drivers tomorrow, saving lives in the future. The hope is that by educating children it will also have a positive effect with parents and guardians influencing their driving behaviour. What is more important than that?
Results
We demo’ed Roadbot to the children who designed it, to gauge their reaction and ask for feedback. These are just some of the things they said:
“I liked when Roadbot told us about road safety.”
“I liked the fact that Roadbot came out of a hole in the floor.”
“We can remember some of the Roadbot’s safety tips.”
“I would like it if Roadbot was different colours.”
Even their teacher loved how interactive Roadbot was and was impressed by the collaboration between us and the children.
“I liked how the app explained road safety to children of such a young age and was impressed the children remembered the top five road safety tips.”
~ Miss Maloney, St Mathew’s C of E Primary School
The power of augmented reality
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