Perspectives in Assistive Technology is a Winter Quarter Stanford course - entering its fifteenth year - that explores the design, development, and use of assistive technology that benefits people with disabilities and older adults. It consists of semi-weekly online discussions; lectures by notable professionals, clinicians, and assistive technology users; virtual tours of local medical, clinical, and engineering facilities; student project presentations and demonstrations; and an Virtual Assistive Technology Faire.

Student enrollment - Stanford students can begin enrolling in Winter Quarter courses on Sunday, December 9th.

Updated website - The course website has been updated for this coming academic year. Major changes have been made to the syllabus and project assignment.

Lecture Roster

This is a tentative list of class sessions that have yet to be scheduled.

• Course Overview & Introduction to Assistive Technology - David L. Jaffe, MS
• Project Pitches & Team Formation - Project Suggestors
• Needfinding and Assistive Technologies - Gayle Curtis
• Bridging the Gap between Consumers and Products in Rehabilitation Medicine - Deborah E. Kenney, MS, OTR/L
• Perspectives of Stanford Students with a Disability - Students
• Designing Beyond the Norm to Meet the Needs of All People - Peter W. Axelson, MSME, ATP, RET
• Improving Home Environments for Older Adults - Matteo Zallio, M.Arch, PhD
• Issues of Human Interface Design - Gary M. Berke, MS, CP, FAAOP
• The Design and Control of Exoskeletons for Rehabilitation - Katherine Strausser, PhD
• Student's' Project Mid-term Updates
• Art, Aesthetics: Problems of and with Adaptive Design - Alice Sheppard
• From Idea to Market: Eatwell, Assistive Tableware for Persons with Cognitive Impairments - Sha Yao
• Virtual Assistive Technology Faire - Vendors
• Virtual Field Trips: Magical Bridge Playground & VA Health Care System Spinal Cord Injury Service - Olenka Villarreal & Graham H. Creasey, MD, FRCSEd
• Designing Exoskeletons and Prosthetic Limbs that Enhance Human Performance - Steven H. Collins, PhD
• Machine Learning, Biosensing, Virtual Reality Technology - Converging to Transform Healthcare - Walter Greenleaf, PhD
• Normalcy Fallacy: Reimagining Mobility for Scientific Discovery & Innovation - Kat M. Steele, PhD, MS
• Wheelchair Fabrication in Developing Countries - Ralf Hotchkiss
• Students' Project Final Presentations
• Students' Project Demonstrations, Course Evaluation, and Celebration

Attend upcoming Zoom class sessions - Although official enrollment is required for Stanford students to receive academic credit, all the Zoom class sessions will be open to the community. You need not be a Stanford student to attend, there is no signup required, and there is no charge. The first lecture will be on Tuesday, January 12th and the full schedule will be found here. Zoom connection information will be posted in future issues of this newsletter.

Request for additional student project suggestions - Project suggestions are continuing to be solicited. For more information refer to the Call for Projects Suggestions webpage.

You are strongly encouraged to submit project suggestions for students to pursue. Send descriptions of identified challenges that would be appropriate to be addressed by a student not working on campus. Please do this as soon as possible so I'll have adequate time to consider all submissions, edit approved entries, and post them. The deadline is Tuesday, December 15th. If your project is accepted, you can "pitch" it to the class on Thursday, January 14h. If a student selects it, you will then have the opportunity to offer him/her your advice, direction, and expertise in person, by phone, and/or by email.

You are invited to participate in the Virtual Assistive Technology Faire - This ninth annual course event will provide an opportunity for students and community members to get an up-close look at a variety of assistive technology devices and learn about available services. Users of assistive technology products as well as small companies and agencies serving individuals with disabilities and older adults are encouraged to bring assistive technology devices and information to display, demonstrate, and discuss. Please browse to the Call for Assistive Technology Faire Participants webpage and contact me if you would like to be a part of this virtual event as a user or vendor of assistive technology products or services. Everyone is welcome to attend the Faire.

Here is the line up and slides from last year's Faire. A date for this year's event has not yet been scheduled.

Sight Tech Global is the first global, virtual conference dedicated to fostering discussion among technology pioneers on how rapid advances in AI and related technologies will fundamentally alter the landscape of assistive technology and accessibility for people with visual impairements.

Leaders from OrCam, Waymo, Amazon, Microsoft, and technologists Glen Gordon, the original architect of JAWS, and Bryan Bashin, CEO of Lighthouse will be speaking at the event. Listen to these visionaries discuss the future of accessibility technology and ask them questions during the Q&A sessions.

All proceeds from the event will go to The Vista Center, a 75-year-old non-profit dedicated to helping Silicon Valley's visually impaired population. The event will be held in partnership with TechCrunch and Verizon Media.