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Call for
Candidate Team Project Ideas
Ideas are being sought for team projects for
the assistive technology course at Stanford University this academic
year.
The seventh season of Perspectives in
Assistive Technology (ENGR110/210) will be offered in the Winter Quarter,
starting in January. This class explores the engineering, medical, technical,
and psychosocial challenges of implementing technology solutions for people
with disabilities and seniors through lectures by experts in the fields of
assistive technology and rehabilitation. In addition, teams of students work
with project partners, coaches, and individuals with disability (or family
members or health care professionals) to identify assistive technology needs,
brainstorm ideas, formulate design solutions, fabricate devices, test them with
users, and report their efforts.
In the past several years, many projects
involving assistive technology have been undertaken. Previous years' projects
were:
-
| 2012 |
Accessible
Restaurant Menu Project |
|
Social Skills for
Elementary Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders |
|
Customize the
Wheelchair Project |
|
Educational
Activities for Children with Disabilities |
|
Piano Pedal
Project |
|
Friendly Cane
Project |
|
Low Cost Transfer
Device |
|
Wheelchair
Brake |
|
Proximity
Alert |
|
Exoskeleton
Research |
|
Reconsidering the
Aesthetics of Emergency Call Devices |
|
|
| 2011 |
No-Fall Cane
Project |
|
Exercise
Machine |
|
ROTA Hybrid Drive
Project |
|
RAFT
Project |
|
|
| 2010 |
Recharging Vest for
Users of Implanted Deep Brain Stimulators |
|
Standing and Walking
Aid for Improved Balance and Stability |
|
|
| 2009 |
iPhone Dialer for
Individuals with Visual Impairments |
|
Handi-Cart for
Wheelchair Shoppers |
|
Sonification of
Movement for Individuals with Movement Restricting Disabilities |
|
Opening Doors for
Wheelchair Users |
|
|
| 2008 |
Device to Press
Elevator Buttons for Wheelchair Users |
|
Liquid Metal Cane
for Individuals who are Blind |
|
Mobility Motivation
Device for Children with Cerebral Palsy |
|
|
| 2007 |
Accessible Fishing
Pole |
|
Aid for Donning an
Artificial Leg |
|
Device to Facilitate
Moving Elderly People around Their Home |
|
Rain Protector for
Wheelchair Users |
|
|
| 2006 |
Affordable Electric
Page Turner for Individuals with ALS |
|
Standing Aid for
Children with Cerebral Palsy |
|
Wheelchair
Lift |
The best projects typically win national
design awards, even when competing against year-long design courses at other
schools.
Project Ideas: Project ideas /
suggestions are now being solicited. The broad requirements for projects
are:
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Deliverable: Projects must involve
designing and fabricating a device (or developing software) to help seniors or
individuals with a disability.
-
Creativity: Student teams are
required to fully understand the problem, identify the need, brainstorm
concepts, choose a design, and fabricate, test, and report on their creative
solution.
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Originality: Student teams'
designs should not be a copy of an existing commercial product or a physical
representation of someone's design concept.
-
Feasibility: The project's aim and
specifications should be realistic. Project solutions that can only be achieved
by violating the laws of physics or that presume the existence of an
anti-gravity machine are examples of infeasible project ideas.
-
Suitability: Projects which
involve advertising, marketing, data analysis, surveys, long-term studies, and
market analysis are not suitable for this course.
-
Overlap: Projects should focus on
actual needs or problems that are inadequately addressed by commercial products
and could include diagnostic and rehab therapy equipment as well as personal
devices. Projects that assist family members or health care professionals in
caring for individuals with disabilities and seniors are also
welcomed.
-
Scale: Projects must be of
appropriate scale and complexity to be completed (design, fabrication, and
testing of a prototype) in one quarter (8 weeks).
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Expertise: Projects must be
compatible with the skill level and expertise of students in the course. They
typically have mechanical engineering backgrounds, although some may have
electrical engineering, computer hardware, and software
experience.
-
Cost: The estimated cost of any
parts or fabrication must be modest, no more than a few hundred
dollars.
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Participation: A senior, a person
with a disability, a family member of a person with a disability, or a health
care professional should be available to work with the student project team to
further identify the need, offer advice during the quarter, and test the
prototypes.
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Risk: The project must not pose a
risk of harm to the user or student team. The device must be minimally
invasive.
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Damage: Work on the project must
not damage or alter any Stanford or private property. Examples of prohibited
activities include drilling into walls or rewiring installed
infrastructure.
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Support: Projects whose expenses
are supported through monetary gifts to the course will be given preference.
See Call for Project Support.
Please send any project ideas you have so
they can be reviewed, compiled into a list, and offered to students in the
first class session (Tuesday, January 8th). To best convey project
ideas, they should be formulated into these short paragraphs:
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Name: - suggest a simple phrase to
refer to the project
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Background: - give an overview of
your organization or general description of the population addressed by your
project idea
-
Problem: - briefly describe the
problem or unmet need for the device you have in
mind
(The
Everyday Usefulness of the Problem Statement by Alan
Nicol)
-
Aim: - describe what the proposed
solution should do
-
Design Criteria: - list the
desirable operational features and characteristics of the proposed
solution
-
Other: - provide any additional
information, including weblinks and design suggestions
There will be an opportunity for those who
suggest project ideas to present them to students in the second class session
(Thursday, January 10th). The students will then consider all the
offerings and choose projects that most interest them.
This is an excellent opportunity to have
bright students work on team projects that address long-standing problems
experienced by people with disabilities and seniors.
Please contact me if you have any questions
about the course and thank you for your project ideas.
- David L. Jaffe, MS
- dljaffe -at- stanford.edu
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