Cubbie – Smart Sensory Pods

Cubbie is an enclosed sensory space — a pod or "hub" — that schools, hospitals, local authorities and public venues install so that a child or adult who is overloaded, anxious or dysregulated has somewhere to step away and reset. It is bought by organisations rather than families, so most neurodivergent people will meet one in a school, a hospital waiting area, a library or a stadium, and for a parent the practical question is usually whether a local setting has one or could be persuaded to get one.

The inside of the pod is deliberately plain. Light, sound and projected visuals are then shaped to each user's "sensory portrait", a profile built by qualified occupational therapists using Winnie Dunn's sensory processing model, which maps how a person responds to sound, light, touch and movement. That means someone who needs quiet and dim light and someone who needs more input can use the same space in different ways. A session typically lasts ten minutes or less, and Cubbie describes it as usable before, during or after dysregulation rather than only at crisis point. Usage data is recorded so staff can see what helps, and the system's impact has been independently analysed by the University of Galway.

Cubbie is based at the Cairn International Trade Centre in Kiltimagh, County Mayo, and works across Ireland and the UK. Its customers include schools, an NHS foundation trust, Galway University Hospital's children's services and Mayo Libraries. The company handles installation, staff training and ongoing support, and says most settings are running on the day it is installed. Prices and purchase or lease terms are not published, so organisations need to contact the team for a quote.