An Episcopal School of Dallas graduate is working to send senior citizens back in time with the squeeze of a teddy bear.
Natalie Monger, who is now a student at University of Southern California, caught the attention of Google’s Liquid Galaxy team after proposing a summer intern project that sends users visually over panoramas of Earth, Park Cities People reported.
“It will fly you to all your old memories — that’s where I was married, that’s where I went to elementary school,” Monger told Park Cities People.
By tightening their grip around a chip-implanted teddy bear, a signal travels and connects to a screen, allowing users to reminisce about personal memories of places they’ve been via Google Earth technology. Pairing the stuffed animal with the virtual technology still gives the experience a tangible component for senior citizens.
“It will fly you to all your old memories — that’s where I was married, that’s where I went to elementary school.”
Natalie Monger
“It’s made for the elderly, which I think is really cool because they don’t have a lot of technologies geared towards them,” Monger told the newspaper.
At the end of the summer program, Monger hopes to see her program in the hands of Liquid Galaxy.
“It will be credited towards me, and maybe they’ll offer me another project next summer,” Monger told Park Cities People.