Winter Quarter 2015

David L. Jaffe, MS Tuesdays & Thursdays at 4:15pm - 5:30pm Classroom 110 in Thornton Center

Candidate Individual Projects - 2015

Individual Projects are designed to be less time-consuming for a student whose schedule does not permit working on a team-based project but wishes to receive a letter grade and one credit unit. Students working on an individual project must meet with the course instructor during the second week of classes to discuss and agree upon the specifics of the project. Also see Required Course and Individual Project Activities.

Individual Projects:

• Project lists from 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007

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l  General Individual Projects

Focus on one of these activities that relate to or would potentially benefit an older adult or individual with a disability:

1. Research an assistive technology topic - report on new products and research under development.

2. Pursue a "paper design" of an assistive technology device - develop a CAD design or a "low resolution" physical device built from foam-core or other prototyping material.

3. Create a work of art - create an original poem, song, skit, painting, or video. (This option would be of particular interest to students who have skills and expertise other than engineering.)

4. Engage in an aftermarket aesthetic design - select an existing assistive product that could benefit from a better appearance, contact the manufacturer, and work with a user of the device to improve its aesthetic appeal.

5. Engage in an aftermarket functionality / usability design - select an existing assistive product that could benefit from a better functionality or usability, contact the manufacturer, and work with a user of the device to improve its functionality or usability.

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l  Individual Projects Suggested by the Ideation Workshop Senior User Insights Panel

Address concerns expressed by the Ideation Workshop Senior User Insights Panel for the Stanford Center on Longevity's Design Challenge, "Enabling Personal Mobility across the Life Span".

The result of the individual student project efforts should be ideas, concepts, or low-resolution models rather than functional prototypes.

1. lifting individuals who have fallen in their home (either with or without the assistance of another family member)

2. promoting community participation through enhanced use of transportation and communication systems

3. improving appearance and beauty

4. sustaining mobility and activity after a diagnosis of Parkinson's or other similar conditions

5. addressing technophobia through instructional techniques

6. making new friends and maintaining current relationships in the community

7. redesigning communities for older adults

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Individual Projects with Veterans with Spinal Cord Injury

1. Problems and needs expressed at SCI Peer Support Group Meeting

Manipulating objects:

• picking up dropped items, especially from under tables or chairs
• reaching items high on shelves
• carrying items such as papers and groceries
• retrieving mail from mailbox
• BBQ implements
• handling a bank card at an ATM
• handling money - both coins and bills

Accessing the real-world:

• charging system for powered wheelchair users
• iPhone camera mount for a photographer with C5/6 quadriplegia
• opening doors
• opening a 2-liter bottle
• preparing food and cooking tasks, including making sandwiches and heating soup
• controlling appliances such as the TV, telephone, electric bed, music system, nurse call, etc.

  HouseMate ECU for Android Configurator

  VoiceIR Environmental Voice Controller Configurator

• transferring to / from wheelchair to bed or shower
• tele-visiting / tele-working with family / co-workers at home/office during hospital stay
• selecting groceries remotely for delivery
• design for an arm ergometer that would allow users to strap themselves in
• a joystick design that would accommodate a variety of shaft geometries
• a cup holder that can fit on any wheelchair

Recreational activities:

• operating a PS3 game controller for a gamer who has use of one hand

  One-Handed Ergonomic Palm Game Controller

• engaging in gardening tasks

Caregiver (family, nurse, and therapist) assistance

2. Fishing rod, wheelchair brackets, accessible digital camera, lap tray system

• A device to operate a fishing rod for a user without use of upper extremity - to reel the line in/out, lock the reel, etc

  existing products from Broadened Horizons

• A bracket design for new power wheelchairs that would allow use of an overhead sling system
• A bracket system for power wheelchairs that would work with a mobile arm support system
• A device that would allow a high level quadriplegia (C4) to use a digital camera. It need not be able to adjust position of camera, but it should include a feature to snap a photo for users with diminished hand function.

  existing products from Broadened Horizons

• A lap tray system that is compatible with the new wheelchair designs

Links:

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l  Specific Individual Projects

1. Electric Scooter Design Concept Project

Aim: Explore a CAD design or a low-resolution prototype of a three or four wheeled electric scooter which is fun to use and aesthetically appealing for people who need mobility help and don't want the standard stuff that looks institutional, medical, etc. A commercial product based on the design must be reasonably priced - less than $2000.

2. Fix Adapted Walker for a User Recovering from Stroke

Background: A design that permitted a user with a weakness on one side of his body to more easily steer and push his walker was built in the Spring Quarter of ME113 in 2014. Here is the project description.

Aim: Explore solutions to fix the adaptation - the center handle no longer fits securely in the frame, possibly as a result of wear.

3. Accessibility Survey

Aim: Perform an accessibility survey and analysis of a new Stanford building. (This project might best be accomplished by two students performing surveys of two buildings - one doing the measuring, the other recording and swapping roles between buildings.)

4. Customize the Cane

Aim: Explore ways to add a personal aesthetic to a cane.

5. User-friendly Android App

Aim: Create an Android app interface for users with limited vision for blinddroid.

6. Age-Appropriate Learning Material

Aim: Explore design concepts for age-appropriate learning material for adult participants with K - 3 grade reading level.

7. Age-Appropriate Sensory Engagement

Aim: Explore dignified design concepts for age-appropriate sensory stimulation items for adult participants with diminished cognitive functioning.

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l  Other Individual Projects

1. Accessible interfaces for commonly-used devices:

   iPods / iPads / mp3 players

   Cell phones

   Remote controls

2. Toys for kids with disabilities

3. Projects benefitting children with Autism

4. Projects benefitting parents with disabilities

5. Projects supporting equal access to extracurricular sports activities for students with disabilities

6. Assistive technology project defined by Google[x]

7. Assistive technology project defined by Avenidas

8. Software projects suggested by Project: Possibility

9. Revisit projects listed in NSF guide:

   Engineering Senior Design Projects to Aid Persons with Disabilities

10. l  Student-defined Individual Projects:

    Meet with course instructor to discuss and agree upon the specifics of the project. Interview, observe, and discuss assistive technology problems with an individual with a disability or older adult. Address their desire to participate in one of the following activities by designing an adaptation to an existing device / tool or creating a new, more useful one.

    
    

    • Activities of Daily Living - cooking, showering or bathing, dressing, cleaning, housework, yard work, employment, education, shopping, commuting, etc

    • Sports and Exercise - walking, running, indoor and outdoor sports, etc

    • Leisure Activities and Hobbies - collecting, model making, crafts, board games & videogames, etc

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