‘Mouthpad,’ a touchpad for your tongue, wins Innovation Grand Prix at Cannes

MouthPad, a device that allows people to control personal devices purely through the movement of their tongue—making hands-free computing more human and accessible—won the Innovation Grand Prix at Cannes Lions on Thursday. MIT Media Lab spinoff Augmental, which invented the device, and Wunderman Thompson, which has created marketing around it, shared the prize as co-entrants. Wunderman Thompson has made accessibility initiatives a major focus of late—in particular, inclusive and accessible design. MouthPad is a fully bespoke, smart intra-oral interface, customized to the user’s mouth with the ability to connect to several personal devices. The product was introduced on May 18, Global Accessibility Awareness Day, with a video from WT. Josh Loebner, global head of inclusive design at Wunderman Thompson, said at the time of launch that MouthPad “shows that we’re moving beyond awareness to actions” and that the device “goes beyond an advancement in technology to advancing opportunities for people with disabilities that dream of showcasing their creativity to disabled consumers and so many others.” On Thursday, Loebner told Ad Age that this is his first Lion of any kind—and in fact, it’s his first trip to Cannes. “This is funny but as a blind person I’m looking forward to feeling the award’s shape,” he said. “Most awards are flat, but this one is tactile so in a roundabout way the award itself is inclusively designed.” The Innovation jury heard pitches directly from the entrants this week. “It’s the power to transform an individual life in such a holistic way,” said Grace Francis, global chief creative and design officer at WongDoody and president of the Innovation jury. “It’s a use of innovation that doesn’t just touch on the practical, it touches on the emotional. And it will enable things we never thought possible. It might be something like the privacy of sending a text message—if you are unable to use your body to write out that text message, the option right now is voice, but then everyone can hear what you’re saying. During the presentation, we all gathered around and saw the first selfie taken with the tongue. You can’t ask for more than that.” Cannes Lions coverage Follow our live blog here Sign up here for email updates See all of the Grand Prix winners here

‘Mouthpad,’ a touchpad for your tongue, wins Innovation Grand Prix at Cannes

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