Perspectives in Assistive Technology is a Winter Quarter Stanford course - now starting its tenth year - that explores the design, development, and use of assistive technology that benefits people with disabilities and older adults. It consists of semi-weekly classroom discussions; lectures by notable professionals, clinicians, and assistive technology users; tours of local medical, clinical, and engineering facilities; an assistive technology faire; and a film screening.

How do student projects fit into the course? - Projects are a key course activity, providing students with an opportunity to address real problems faced by individuals with disabilities and older adults. In pursuing their projects, students acquire or practice skills that they will use thoughout their future professionals careers including working in teams, interacting with people in the local community, solving problems, understanding the engineering design / development process, employing course knowledge in a practical context, sharpening fabrication techniques, developing critical thinking skills, and enhancing presentation and report writing abilities.

The course relies on ideas from the community, so please take this opportunity to suggest a project.

What are the benefits of suggesting a student project? - Project suggestors have the opportunity to get involved in the course beyond attending lectures, including working with a team of bright Stanford students, advancing their education, and influencing the design and development of a prototype device that addresses a specific disability or aging problem.

How are student projects chosen? - The process begins with a solicitation (that's the purpose of this newsletter issue) to the local community (that's you!) to observe, identify, and describe problems experienced by an individual with a disability, an older adult, or those who care for or interact with them including teachers, health care professionals, and family members. This encompasses personal devices that facilitate learning, mobility, communication, access to computers, and activities of daily living as well as healthcare equipment for diagnosis, theraphy, and rehabilitation.

What are the project requirements? - Your student project suggestions must consider the following broad requirements:

Deliverable: Project suggestions must involve the design and fabrication of a device (or the development of software) that addresses problems 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, analyze, and report on their creative solution.

Originality: Student teams' designs must not be a copy of an existing commercial product (perform an internet search to confirm this) or a physical representation of another's design concept.

Feasibility: Projects' aims and specifications should be realistic. Project solutions that can only be achieved by employing magic, violating the laws of physics, defying gravity, creating a perpetual motion machine, or disrupting the space-time continuum are examples of infeasible projects.

Suitability: Unsuitable project suggestions include those involving advertising, engaging in market or data analysis or research, performing surveys, creating websites, compiling databases, or pursuing long-term studies.

Overlap: Project suggestions must focus on real problems that are inadequately addressed by commercial products and could include diagnostic and rehabilitation therapy equipment as well as personal devices. Projects that assist family members or health care professionals in caring for individuals with disabilities and older adults are also welcome.

Scale and Complexity: Project suggestions must be of appropriate scale and complexity to be completed (design, fabrication, and testing of a functional prototype) in one academic quarter (about 8 weeks).

Size: Project solutions must be of an appropriate physical scale. The prototype should fit on a desktop as 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: Project suggestions 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, and/or software experience.

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

Proprietary: Project solutions 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 must be available locally to work with the student project team to further illustrate the problem, offer advice during the quarter, and test the prototypes.

Risk: Project solutions 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: Project suggestions should not be a duplication of a candidate project already described in the current candidate project list.

Support: Project suggestions supported by a monetary gift to the course will be given preference. See Call for Project Support.

After that, then what? - Compose and email your project suggestion for review (text format is ok). Note that you should describe the problem and the features of a solution, but not how the device should appear, be built, or solve the problem - those are tasks for the student team to address. To best convey your project suggestions, use the current candidate project list as a guide and format your problem description into these short, concise paragraphs:

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

Background: - give an overview of your organization and / or provide a general description of the population addressed by your project suggestion

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

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

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

Other: - provide any additional information that will highlight the problem, including photographs, short videos, a list available resources, weblinks, and general design suggestions

Contact Information: - provide your name, company, email address, and phone number (optional).

What comes next? - Once I receive your emailed project suggestion submission, I will read, review, and consider it. A submission that meets my approval will be accepted as candidate team project for posting on the course website and dissemination to students as a handout on the first day of class. You will have the opportunity to "pitch" your project suggestion on the second day of class. (Here is information on the "pitch" process.) If a student team chooses your project suggestion, you must be able to assist them with 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.

What is the deadline for project suggestions? - Please submit your suggestions to me as soon as you can so I have time to consider all submissions, edit approved entries, and post them - not later than Tuesday, December 1st.

Would you like to support the course? - Funding in any amount for the course and student projects is always welcomed. Monetary gifts support approved project expenses, administrative costs, honoraria for guest lecturers, and the end-of-term celebration. Refer to the Team Project Support webpage for more information.

Do you have questions or need additional information? - Please feel free to contact me early in the project suggestion process so I can review your ideas.

Do you have a question or comment? - If you have general questions, comments, or suggestions about the course, David L. Jaffe, MS, the instructor, can be reached by email or at 650/892-4464. Thank you again for your interest.