Situation: Globally, 70M people are on the autism spectrum. They suffer panic attacks and anxiety crises due to hyperacusis (sensitivity to specific noises such as barks, sirens or construction works).

Brief: Actual noise cancellation technology headphones block all noises for people with autism. But this also isolates them because it creates a bubble of sound. Samsung needed a smart and universal solution to suppress the noises without limiting their lives (social interaction and autonomy).

Objective: Use an existing Samsung technology: Galaxy Buds2 Pro earphones, Through this wearable device we developed a free A.I App that suppresses certain noises improving the quality of life of people with ASD. Unfear works as a sound airbag reacting automatically when the noise appears giving the users the freedom to interact in any environment with no fear of any noise.

A big problem for people with autism is that we live in a chaotic, overstimulating and acoustically polluted world plus they usually are a forgotten target in our society. For them, regular noises can be frightening. Headphones with noise canceling technology exist already but they block all sounds and isolate them.

This initiative gives the ASD collective visibility, but through the use of tech it also helps them with an intelligent solution. This App creates an experience where sufferers can customize it to their needs. An algorithm anticipates the noises that bother them, from outside and inside the phone, and suppress them in real time. Plus it’s ready to download and free to use.

In addition, Unfear can be scalable and useful for other people who suffer from hearing sensitivity. This makes it a helping tool to sensory integration of 7% of the world population that suffer sound hyper sensibility.

The first smart noise canceling app that protects ASD people and those with hearing disorders from stressful noises. An advanced AI that continuously listens, pinpointing every sound before cross-referencing in real-time with thousands of libraries to suppress only the noises that affect them.

Unfear is a 5-function multi tool. Its 2 main filter modes are the smart cancellation of external sounds and the sound wave modification of mobile content (games, video, social networks and music). But it also has a focus mode, a SOS button and a calm mode that plays binaural sounds through a voice recognition to help the affected return to a normal state.

Our strategy focused on helping a forgotten audience by providing them with a multifunctional tool that helps them to listen live without fear to the usual noises.

Phase 1: Testing phase: We tested the app with over 100 people. ASD people, their families, doctors, psychotherapists, developers and engineers helped us create Unfear.

Phase 2: Organic spread: During International Autism Awareness Day, we launched our free app to generate downloads and start the conversation in the news. More than 100 international media covered it and the main Spanish ASD associations which we created the app with, helped to spread the news among the collective.

Phase 3: We launched a video testing the app during the noisiest holiday in Spain with an ASD kid proving this tech in the real world. We are planning to highlight Unfear on other relevant spanish dates throughout the year while spreading the results with ASD influencers.

Unfear has been developed by programmers, engineers, doctors, therapists and 10 of the most important ASD associations in Spain. Unfear was designed hand to hand with ASD people to make it accessible through pictograms and help all users to understand its functions. We also developed a tutorial explaining how easy, intuitive and functional the app is.

Timeline: We spent 9 months testing and developing it. During the launching phase (3 months) we are working with ASD influencers and organizations to create video testimonials in different cultural events (music festivals, sport events, folk parties) showing the potential of Unfear and inviting people to try it.

Scale: Unfear was launched for ASD people with hyperacusis but the scale is not limited to the Autism collective. Any person with Sound sensibility can use it and benefit from it. Meaning that over 7% of Spaniards can be impacted by Unfear on the next years.

To date, Unfear had a positive rating of 4.9/5 in the testing phase, has been scientifically endorsed by the Spanish Society of Psychiatry and Mental Health, and the reviews from specialized doctors and ASD associations have been great.

Since its launch, it has been downloaded daily in Spain and the promotional videos have 1M of earned media around the globe.

During the first months of the app, Samsung has donated over 100 Galaxy Buds2 Pro to the main ASD associations to increase the use of the app, give visibility to the group and reaffirm with facts and not words, the brand's commitment to Spanish society.

Unfear continues the work done by Samsung in its Technology with Purpose campaign. For a decade, it has worked on more than 30 projects with an investment of €25M to help and improve people's lives through technology and innovation.

Spain is one the most sociable countries in the world and one of the loudest too, so it’s natural that a tool that allows sufferers to interact with the environment and the people was very well received. Unfear goes beyond noise cancellation, creating a great solution for the ASD collective.This new customizable app they can interact with sounds in their everyday lives no matter the noise conditions giving them the opportunity to not miss any interaction. Unfear was created in Spain but can work perfectly anywhere in the world. Is a free to use app and it opens a door to millions of ASD people in the world to listen live to their lives again with no fear to any sound.