Winter Quarter 2015

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

Call for Team Project Suggestions

Abstract: Project suggestions are sought for the assistive technology course at Stanford University this coming academic year.

Deadline: Monday, December 1st

Introduction: The ninth 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 older adults 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 older adults (or family members or health care professionals) to fully understand the problem, identify assistive technology needs, brainstorm ideas, formulate design concepts, fabricate devices, test them with users, and report their efforts.

Some student projects have won national design awards, even when competing against year-long design courses at other universities.

Project Requirements: Project ideas / suggestions are now being solicited. The broad requirements for these projects are:

• Deliverable: A project suggestion must involve the design and fabrication of a device (or development of software) to address a problem experienced by older adults, individuals with a disability, or those who care for them.

• Creativity: In pursuit of their projects, student teams are required to fully understand the problem, identify the need, brainstorm concepts, choose a design (or designs), and fabricate, test, and report on their creative solution.

• Originality: Student teams' designs should not be a copy of an existing commercial product or a physical representation of another'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: A project suggestion involving advertising, engaging in market or data analysis, performing surveys, creating websites, compiling databases, or pursuing long-term studies is not suitable as team project.

• Overlap: A project suggestion must focus on real needs that are inadequately addressed by commercial products and could include diagnostic and rehabilitation therapy equipment as well as personal devices. A project solution that assists family members or health care professionals in caring for individuals with disabilities and older adults is also welcome.

• Scale and Complexity: A project solution must be of appropriate scale and complexity to be completed (design, fabrication, and testing of a prototype) in one academic quarter (8 weeks).

• Size: A project solution must be of an appropriate physical scale - the prototype should fit on a desktop. There is insufficient space on campus to work on cars or other large items.

• Work location: A majority of the project fabrication effort should occur on campus rather than in the residence of the older adult or person with a disability.

• Expertise: A project suggestion must be compatible with the skill level and expertise of students in the course. They typically have mechanical engineering backgrounds, although some may have product design, electrical engineering, computer hardware, or software experience.

• Cost: Estimated parts and fabrication costs must be modest, no more than a few hundred dollars.

• Proprietary: The project solution must not require access to or modification of proprietary software, such as adding functions to a cellphone.

• Participation: An older adult, 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 illustrate the problem, offer advice during the quarter, and test the prototypes.

• Risk: The project solution must not pose a risk of harm to the user or student team. The device must also be minimally invasive.

• Damage or Modification: Project work must not damage or alter any Stanford or private property. Examples of prohibited activities include drilling into walls or rewiring the installed infrastructure.

• Duplication: The project suggestion should not be a duplication of a candidate project already described in the current candidate team project list.

• Support: A candidate project supported by a monetary gift to the course will be given preference. See Call for Project Support.

Expectations:

• As there are many more projects than teams, there is a chance that your project will not be chosen - don't be disappointed if this happens with your suggested project.

• Don't expect that what the students fabricate will be a totally workable solution. It may not be "ready for prime time", be unsafe to use, or remain otherwise unfinished.

• A team's prototype may be something that looks very different from existing commercial products.

• It is very unlikely for a student design to become commercialized, without spending several additional years of effort and lots of $ on doing so.

Project Description: Compose (text format is ok) and email your project suggestion for review. Note that both the problem and features of a solution should be highlighted, but not how a device should appear, be built, or solve the problem - those are tasks for the student team. To best convey a project suggestion, use the current team candidate project list as a guide and format the project description into these short paragraphs:

1. Name: - suggest a simple, short , descriptive phrase to refer to the project

2. Background: - overview the suggestor's organization and / or give a general description of the population addressed by the project suggestion

3. Problem: - briefly and concisely describe the problem, including the people who experience it
        (The Everyday Usefulness of the Problem Statement by Alan Nicol is a well-written reference article.)

4. Aim: - describe what the proposed solution should do, but not how it should do it

5. Design Criteria: - list the desirable operational features and characteristics of the proposed solution

6. Other: - include additional information that will illuminate the problem and facilitate a solution, such as photographs, short videos, a list available resources, weblinks, and general design suggestions

7. Contact Information: - provide suggestor's name, company (if applicable), email address, and phone number (optional).

Project Approval: Once the emailed project suggestion is received, it will be read, reviewed, and considered. Approved project suggestions will be accepted as candidate student projects and will be posted on the course website as well as disseminated to students as a handout on the first day of class.

Project Presentation: Project suggestors will have the opportunity to "pitch" their candidate project on the second day of class. (Here is information on the "pitch" process.) If a student team chooses to work on the candidate project, its suggestor will provide advice, direction, and expertise in person, or by phone, and/or email during the quarter and will be invited to the Student Team Project Final Presentations and Project Demonstrations.

This is an excellent opportunity to have bright students work on team projects that address long-standing problems experienced by people with disabilities and older adults.

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