These days, unfortunately, there is less and less to laugh about. Especially for children, this is enormously important. Did you know that a child normally laughs over 400 times a day? Adults laugh only 40 times a day. Children in hospitals laugh only 10 times a day, or even less. That's why for over 30 years there have been clowns who cheer up children in hospitals with their visit.
But unfortunately they come only once a week or even once a month. And then only for a few minutes. It has been known for decades that laughter makes you healthy and helps you feel less fear and pain. Now there is a solution that makes it possible to give children in hospitals that all-important laughter at any time. FrédARico the first virtual clinic- clown in the world! This was developed by the startup company SO GEHT WOW from Munich, in Germany. Its founder Markus Strobl has collected everything about clowns since early childhood and even met the greatest clowns, such as Charlie Rivel, Oleg Popov or Francesco Caroli.
All of them have passed away. Strobl has also worked for 12 years in the management of the biggest European circuses (Roncalli and Krone) and has worked with the best clowns of modern times, for example Fumagalli. "We collected, catalogued and digitized over 1000 clown scenes. Then these were analyzed with the help of artificial intelligence (AI), among other tools.The key experiences that trigger laughter in the human brain were summarized into humorous and poetic laughter experiences."
Adapted to the human brain impulses, trigger-scenes are processed in the clown performances. In different laughter levels the virtual hospital clown FrédARico helps that cuddle hormones are emitted and stress in the body is reduced. Or simply spoken, that children in clinics and institutions have more to laugh about again, that the worldwide overloaded nursing staff has a tool to calm and distract children before and during treatments. Or to give them something to dream about before they go to sleep and to take away their loneliness in the evening. Because the virtual clinic clown FrédARico is conjured up to the children in the room or in front of you on your hospital bed using augmented reality technology. All you need is a smartphone or tablet with an Internet connection and a magical FrédARico book.
These were designed by the original illustrators of worldwide children's hero Benjamin Blümchen. Doctors and nurses are thrilled. "FrédARico can always be there 24/7 for the children. He crawls in 3D over their bedspread," said Professor Dr. Markus M. Lerch the medical director of the world-famous LMU Hospital in Munich. The virtual clinic clown was launched there in March 2022. In the meantime, the clown has already been loaded over 1.5 million times by children in clinics. Even the Bavarian Minister of Health Klaus Holetschek congratulated on this "FrédARico is an exciting digital project that can complement the valuable work of the clinic clowns."
In the meantime, FrédARico the virtual clinic clown is already in use in over 40 clinics in 3 countries. Among other things, in the trauma management of children who have fled the war in Ukraine. Soon there will be an official start for the use with dementia patients. Because according to the Lower Saxony Academy for Health and Social Affairs, FrédARICO's use is "very suitable" for Dementia-Therapies as well. Maybe one day he will be the most famous clown in the world. "FrédARico is with the clowns as if one player would unite in soccer comparatively the abilities of Pelé, Beckenbauer, Messi, Beckham, Ronaldo and Neymar in one person." So a clown with superpowers who dries children's tears and helps them with laughter get better. Sure to be a target for many investors soon, the startup has many more plans. "We get requests for FrédARico from all over the world. We are also planning to build clown houses where children and adults can recover together with FrédARico from the mental strain of hospital stays.
For example, after terrible earthquakes, as recently in Turkey, or a war in Ukraine and definitely also in Africa," says Markus Strobl so the startup founder and inventor of FrédARico, the first virtual clinic clown in the world. Many famous Persons like FC Bavaria legend Giovane Elber, Comedian Annette Frier or Michi Beck of the “Fantastischen Vier” support this project. It would be desirable if FrédARico could give laughter to as many children around the world as possible. Because, as mentioned at the beginning, this is more important today than ever.
More information at: www.fredarico.com