By Editor Design.nl / 28-07-2008

Engineer Bas Groenendaal, recently graduated in industrial design, is the first winner of the new Perspective Prize awarded by the Technical University Eindhoven (TUV).

Groenendaal has developed a special camera to help children to recover from traumatic experiences. The Perspective Prize is one of the TUV’s annual academic prizes. The prize consists of ten thousand euros and a certificate.

Groenendaal describes his camera, which is called Scope, as 'socially engaged design'. The camera is round in form, with a square opening in the middle. As Groenendaal sees it, the camera can help children recover from traumatic experiences in a variety of ways. "Using the camera, the child can learn to take control over situations. He or she can also learn to understand their own identity and environment, and the camera can function as a booster to communication with others," he says.

Children who use Scope are mainly interested in what they are doing with it, and not with the end result. The camera does not have a screen that shows the scene being photographed. Moreover, the square opening in the camera makes it impossible to hide behind the camera. Groenendaal says that there is a lot of interest in Scope, but as yet no concrete contracts.

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