Assisted Childcare Hologram

After the success of the emergency medical hologram Mk 1 Project Starfleet began looking into other uses of the technology in facilities and starships where holographic emitters were installed. One of the many derivatives of the original EMH was a program initially called CAH, later changed to ACH which it was deemed to be a more pleasing acronym. The Assisted Childcare Hologram was a system designed initially in the 2380s for use on large facilities and starships with families on board, the primary purposes of which were to provide supervision for children and/or assistance to parents where needed so less personnel are required for basic tasks such as escorting children between different areas, supervising unstructured playtime and helping to synchronise childcare needs with Duty shifts amongst other things. As the system evolved and gained a reliable track record, the ACH was upgraded to perform more complex tasks and take on more responsibility, extending to structured play, basic tuition, organising nourishment, arranging play dates, bathroom supervision and assistance and even putting children to bed.

Form

Early prototypes of the ACH were based on the original EMH form however this was quickly found to be unpalatable and confusing to small children who were less able to grasp the concept of photonic lifeforms. As such (and through scientific methodology and assessment rather than assumption) the prototype system was changed to a human female form depicting an age around the mid 20s earth years as this was found to be the most universally acceptable by surveyed children and parents. Dubbed 'Katy’, this form (as with all ACH forms since) was procedurally generated and in this case sported brown hair in a high ponytail, blue eyes, average human height and weight, a warm blue cardigan, dark trousers and sensible shoes.

The program was quickly expanded during the extended testing phase to include other most common Federation species including Vulcan, Andorian, Bajoran, Trill and Bolian. These variations had a largely the same basic physical features but did include behavioural subroutines and clothing appropriate for the species depicted. By the time the programme was fully tested and ready to be released, all of the more prominent Federation species were included.

The 2390s Mark 2 ACH was it designed to include a raft of extra customisation options. Males and non-binary gendered options were now included and parents could choose from a few different forms per species and customise clothing and basic appearance options to create an individual ACH that a child and other children would recognise as belonging to a particular family. The Mark 2 could also have its familiar name changed at initial setup.

For the start of the 25th century the Mark 3 ACH was created to bring unprecedented customisation and utility to parents. The Mark 3 could be set to depict any adult age group and upon initial set up had its own a procedurally generated form based on parameters provided by the parent. Each ACH became unique to the family that set it up. All Federation species were now represented and attire and accessory options were limited only by that deemed appropriate for children by the computer’s central database. Parents could also now set the ACH to appear in different clothing each day as a biological life form might.

Tasks

Originally the Mark 1 ACH was programmed only to collect a child at predetermined times and locations and ferry them to the next location without a requirement for supervision by a biological life form. As testing progressed this functionality was linked with the ship's computer and pre-existing entries in a personal calendar for the child were used to automatically activate and deactivate the ACH and make sure it was present and ready when required. The second phase of building the system centred around supervising play time inside the family quarters and for this purpose the ACH had access to the ships central databases for medicine and child development and many of the subroutines relating to paediatrics from the EMH were integrated to cover for potential accidents and emergencies. In this way an ACH could cover for parents who were on duty in the essential areas, making sure the child was safe and supervised at all times and being able to contact parents and other figures of appropriate authority in case of problems.

This basic functionality proved to be very useful at but was soon augmented even before the end of the Mark 1 ACH run. As the Mark 2 project approached the ACH unstructured play supervision was upgraded to include structured play and basic tuition. By the time the Mark 2 project was officially started the ACH could interface with the child's school reports and activity logs and focus further activities on learning that would reinforce their ward's most recent new skills and knowledge, or revise anything that needed practice.

The Mark 3 ACH was designed to be as close to a biological child minder as possible whilst retaining the basic premise of a holographic assistant rather than an independent photonic lifeform. The Mark 3 could now select meals for the children in their care based upon a combination of preference and nutritional needs and make judgements as to whether snacks or treats were appropriate. The mark 3 was also able to assist younger children in the bathroom where required and enforce bedtimes, putting the child down and, if required reading or even acting out stories using their photonic form to change clothing for different characters etc. While still maintaining their basic appearance underneath. By the Mark 3 it became possible after initial setup for a child to spend more time with and in effect be brought up by their ACH rather than an actual parent and this led to new guidelines and new subroutines being brought in in 2403 for the ACH to report over-use initially to parents and continued over-use to the nearest Starfleet Counselling Service.

Basic protocol

The ACH has always been hard coded with specific protocols to ensure correct use and child safety: An ACH can only be setup by a parent or guardian registered to the facility in question as a parent or guardian. An ACH can only be summoned by registered parents or registered caregivers such as teACHers or doctors or facility command staff. This protocol changed with the Mark 3 to allow children to summon their own ACH in specific pre-set circumstances. A child's pre-set routine can only be altered by their registered parent or Guardian, registered caregivers or, in the case of the mark 3 in predetermined circumstances by the child themselves. Any abnormalities or problems are reported immediately to the child's parent or Guardian by use of the facility’s internal communications system. This is done by the ACH program running in the facility's computer system and does not affect the current activity or appearance of the hologram - i.e. those in the hologram’s presence do not see it performing this action. ACH are not permitted to answer medical questions other than very basic enquiries. Should this situation arises, the ACH is programmed to contact the facility's sickbay with a request for a free member of staff for a video communication. Any injuries incurred by the ward(s) while in the presence of an ACH are recorded holographically and sent to the parents first and in repeat incidents the nearest counselling service for review.

Guidance

1. An ACH cannot be set to have an appearance aged within ten years of their ward. If (for example) an ACH were setup to portray age 18 and their ward celebrated their ninth birthday the ACH appearance would age to 19 years.
2. An ACH is not recommended for use with children over age 12 except in particular circumstances. Children of this age are expected to be able to be responsible enough to conduct themselves around the ship and organise their own activities.
3. An ACH is recommended to portray the same species and gender as their ward. In cases of families with multiple children of differing genders or differing species the decision of appearance lays with the parents.

Notable ACH holograms

• 'Katy’ - first ACH prototype
• 'Luna’ - first Mk2 ACH prototype
• 'Aris’ - first Mk3 ACH prototype
• 'Glenn’ - first ACH believed to have saved a child's life. Glenn was setup by the Terry family serving aboard the USS Wellington in 2406. In late 2406 whilst supervising Paul and Sandra Terry (7 and 5 years respectively) Paul fell during play and suffered a serious headwound. Glenn acted immediately, stemming blood loss by adapting the photonic form of his hand and simultaneously calling the parents and the ship's sickbay facility for an emergency response.