Dolphin-friendly
The inquisitive and responsive natures of dolphins means that those who have swam with them say it’s an exhilarating experience. Dolphin Assisted Therapy programmes have been developed to enable people to tap in to this and some research suggests that it can be useful for children with special emotional and physical needs.

However, environmental agencies and UK charity Research Autism, warn against the exploitation of dolphins and the pressure on parents trying to raise money to give their children access to these expensive programmes. With his passion for dolphins and desire to make dolphin interaction accessible, engineer and inventor, Paul Obernay has created a unique aquatic simulation.

Ocean simulation
His concept involves a dome, inspired by the idea of the mosque, to create a tranquil environment, smooth and curved like the ocean. Footage of dolphins swimming is projected onto this domed interior and blue light and dolphin calls add to the experience. This simulated environment, says Obernay, enables viewers to ‘experience their own private swim with the dolphins. The end result being that they come out very happy, calm and relaxed.’

The key components of the dome are: a bespoke module made from 10mm acrylic, a hard drive media player; a high Definition TV monitor; a state of the art micro projector and a Nintendo Wii, some additional electronics and his film ‘Dreaming of Dolphins’. Obernay overcame difficult challenges to ensure that the dome satisfied health and safety standards for child and medical use. Finding a suitable manufacturer for the bespoke elements of the dome was frustrating. Jacqueline Russell of Wild Ocean Adventures helped him charter a boat and film dolphins in their natural habitat.

Basis for more research
Obernay hopes to take the Dolphin Dome and Artificial Dolphin Assisted Therapy into commercial manufacture for volume production. The Dolphin Dome is currently at the Spire Bupa Hospital at Anlaby in Hull, available free to the public and is proving very popular. In August, the Dolphin Dome will be at Fairview Special Needs School in Perth, Scotland, where it will be the subject of a research programme into Artificial Dolphin Assisted Therapy. He is hoping his idea will be manufactured under licence, to make it as he says, ‘financially viable for all schools, Special Needs Centres, hospitals, clinics, doctors surgeries, even the work place. Dolphin Assisted Therapy can be available to everyone who could benefit from it.’