Ed tech start-up FuturU has developed an AI motion capture tool that teaches and assesses moving and handling skills.

The FuturU tool, called Captain, allows healthcare professionals to safely practise moving and handling techniques in a virtual environment using an online mannequin. Accessed through a smartphone or laptop, the programme can accurately track a user’s physical movements to see whether they are safely moving someone from a seated to a standing position.

The motion capture tool, which will be rolled out in 2024, uses AI to identify the correct movement based on a person’s shape and size, the patient they are moving and the environment they are in. 

Mark Story, head of learning innovation at FuturU, said: “The goal is to help healthcare professionals to become more confident and familiar with this everyday task, to reduce the risk of injury and improve the quality of care they are delivering. In the future, we will expand on this to help train people in other movement-related skills such as CPR and putting people into the recovery position.”

The tool aims to drive down costs for care providers by making it quicker and easier to competency-assess workers remotely. The technology is also designed to reduce human bias, by providing more objectivity and consistency when assessing staff. Care providers will be able to train and onboard staff before they join, as well as quickly assess them throughout the year. 

FuturU offers free online training for healthcare professionals, through an education and career development hub. The company focuses on creating immersive content that mimics real life scenarios, to help make healthcare learning more enjoyable and memorable.