AI with an Interactive Chatbot: The Application That Diagnoses Mental Distress
During a period in which the security situation in Israel places heavy emotional loads on soldiers and citizens, and the length of time it takes to get the required physical and psychological treatments continues to grow longer—project “Aurora,” recently developed by SCE’s Department of Software Engineering has an advanced technological solution that provides mental support.
Within the framework of their final project, and under the mentorship of Dr. Irina Rabaev, three SCE students: Ms. Oriya Ḥazan, Ms. Osnat Shabtay, and Ms. Matan Nitzan, produced an integrative software system—its goal is to provide immediate personal support to people coping with trauma, stress and mental distress, especially during difficult incidents and situations of uncertainty.
This system is named “Aurora,” symbolizing the rising of light after darkness—and it combines the technologies of advanced AI and an interactive Chatbot. This app ‘analyzes’ each registered user following a user-chatbot dialogue, in accordance with the coping tools.
By means of this app, the users gain access to support 24/7, which includes counselling and emotional support, breathing exercises, and meditation, as well as providing a social platform that enables the participants to have a shared experience and to mutually support each other. This system is programmed to function in an anonymous manner, such that it ensures privacy and creates a safe atmosphere for cooperation and coping with the mental challenges.
Using dynamic behavioral analysis and advanced algorithms, the system identifies various existing conditions and patterns of mental distress and offers personally suited suggestions, with the goal of helping to reduce anxiety while promoting psychological wellbeing.
The uniqueness of this project is rooted in its integration of advanced technologies, such as machine learning, textual analysis, databases and vectors together with the analysis of human emotions (affective science).
The initial idea for the development of such a system was conceived during the “Iron Swords” War, out of an awareness of the real need to find a solution for the ever-growing population requiring therapeutic and psychotherapeutic care. One of the members of the development team,
Nitzan, has been serving in the I.D.F. as a Training Officer in the National Rescue Unit of the Homeland Command since October 6, 2023, and she has done over 300 days of Reserves duty. During the prolonged period of her service, she was exposed to cases of severe distress, suffered by male and female soldiers serving with her.
Even Ḥazan’s and Shabtay’s partners—her “Aurora” development team colleagues’ spouses— are both fighters in I.D.F.’s Golani Brigade and had done long-term service. Mental distress, tension and worry about loved ones was their lot, as it is for many citizens in the State of Israel.
Nitzan spoke for the three of them: “From our personal experiences, we understood that there’s a need for a technological solution that will really benefit the hundreds of thousands of Israeli men and women since October 7, who are experiencing distress and have been waiting many long months to see a psychologist, in need of counselling and emotional support or who yearn for information regarding their rights. […] The system we developed is based on three main features: the identification and diagnosis of the mental distress in real time; the provision of self-treatment methods and tools, and the opportunity to join a cooperative support group, in which members share their cases, personal experiences and coping strategies, when facing their psychological/mental health challenges. To date, there’s no other system in the market that is able to do those three things in one application. The uniqueness of our system is that it ‘learns’ [about] the user and suggests personally appropriate solutions.”
Dr. Rabaev emphasizes that: “This system wasn’t meant to replace professional treatment, but rather to provide an accessible layer of support, always available and secure for everyone.” She adds: “Aurora is not just any app—it’s an initiative with a mission! Beyond the technological development, the team did market research, conducted a user survey, did a review of the literature, and consulted with professionals in the fields of medicine and law, to ensure a regulatory, secure and reliable match. This project embodies the aspiration for combination of engineering, humaneness and vision—to rekindle the dawn for all those coping with the darkness.”
The “Aurora” system will be on display for public viewing at the big southern technology festival—SCE Tech-Fest 25—which will be held at the College from 22-26.6.2025.
