In development – an innovative mobile app aiming to educate and inform about transgender people and issues.

AN AMERICAN technologist based in Columbus, Ohio, is developing a cutting-edge, interactive mobile app which he hopes will help people understand and learn about transgender and gender non-conforming people and issues.

Brad Henry has spent the last 12 months working on Transfigure8, an ‘artificial intelligent transgender friend application’ which is designed to mimic human conversational interactions. The application provides users with the experience of speaking to a transgender person through an interactive ‘3D agent’.

Users simply open the application, select a transgender friend (agent) and ask questions. The transgender agent responds, in essence creating a two-person conversation, much as people might use Siri or Cortana on their phones and tablets, but with the addition of a visual 3D person that interacts with you.

The developers are aiming for content that is real and not edited for public perception, working with transgender and gender non-conforming individuals to create the interactions and conversation topics.

By developing an accessible tool with members of the community, they hope to reach individuals who may not have access to other resources. And with gender identity and gender expression still often perceived as a taboo topic, or something that might be hard to discuss openly, Transgender8 allows anyone to have a personal conversation in complete privacy.

Brad Henry writes: “We are a group of dedicated programmers, artists, community leaders and transgender/gender non-conforming individuals who believe in making the world a better place through understanding and education. Our goal and primary objective is that one day no one will have to read and share a story of someone being bullied or committing suicide because they could not find the resources to speak to someone about gender identity.”

“The application was created to assist families and friends of transgender/gender non-conforming individuals who are learning what it means to have someone who is transgender or gender non-conforming sharing your life. Learning to appreciate differences between us will help us to realize being human is the real norm.”

He adds: “This project is being developed by dedicated people who are volunteering their time and money from other projects to make this one a reality. We are asking for assistance to help us raise the funds to complete the work for this project as well as to make it accessible, for free, for anyone.”

To learn more about the app, click here: