seeUV | A²I² Artificial Intelligence at Deakin

Challenge

Demonstrate just how much damage everyday UV radiation can do to our skin.

Impact

Visualising the radiation one is exposed to throughout the day and the effects of long-term damage to the skin.

Research Partners

Cancer Council Victoria

Awards

Nominated for 2018 VicHealth Award Communications in Health Promotion

Weblinks

Over-exposure to UV radiation can significantly increase the risk of skin cancer.

Australia has one of the highest rates of skin cancer in the world, yet a Cancer Council Victoria survey has revealed that more than a third of Victorians can’t identify the main cause of sunburn.

This lack of knowledge places themselves and their families at risk of sun damage and ultimately skin cancer.

“UV is not like sunlight that we can see, or the sun’s heat, which we can feel. We usually don’t realise how strong the rays are until the damage has already been done.” Heather Walker – SunSmart Manager

Solution

As ultraviolet radiation cannot be detected by human senses, we collaborated with Cancer Council Victoria to design a solution that simulates the potential damage UV can cause.

To make UV more tangible, the seeUV visualiser uses an augmented reality filter to create a virtual representation of ultraviolet radiation. These beams are a representation based on the UV index provided by the Bureau of Meteorology, and rotate based on the sun’s location. In addition to this, a selfie skin damage filter enables users to capture a selfie to simulate what damaged skin looks like.

seeUV is currently being adopted in school programs and skin cancer prevention courses around Australia.

Try seeUV for yourself