Perspectives in Assistive Technology is a Winter Quarter Stanford course - now entering its eighteenth year - that explores the design, development, and use of assistive technology that benefits people with disabilities and older adults. It consists of semi-weekly in-person discussions; lectures by notable professionals, clinicians, and assistive technology users; a tour of an accessible inclusive playground; student project presentations and demonstrations; and an Assistive Technology Faire. Check out the course website.

Guest Lecturer Schedule - The schedule of guest lecturers has been finalized. For more information about each presenter and their topic, browse to the course lecture schedule webpage. Community members are welcome to attend class sessions on campus. Maps and direcrions. Masking is not required. There will not be a concurrent Zoom broadcast.

Tuesday, February 6th at 4:30pm PST

Abstract: Gary will present challenges of human interface design, using prosthetic limbs as the springboard for discussion.

Biosketch: Gary M. Berke is a prosthetist and an Adjunct Clinical Associate Professor in Stanford's Department of Orthopaedic Surgery as well as the owner of Berke Prosthetics and Orthotics in San Mateo. He is also the Chief Clinical Officer for Medical Creations in Denver, a start up in the prosthetic space. He has worked and lectured both nationally and internationally on prosthetic care and has authored multiple publications. He has a keen interest in investigating cost effective technologies that enhance the lives of those who use prostheses and orthoses daily.

Thursday, February 8th at 4:30pm PST

Abstract: The development of Assistive Technology benefits from the contributions of many areas of study. Engineering of physical devices plays a crucial role in meeting the needs of the user and improving the human experience. There are many user needs however, that would greatly benefit from systems capable of not only performing passively, but also from devices that can take action to directly help the user. The question becomes "How can an assistive device capable of taking action, determine the best action to take, in order to help the user at a given moment?". This question leads to the field of Robotics, which is the development of 'thinking' machines. While the term 'thinking' here is used very broadly, it can be simplified to the ability to observe a scenario (perception), 'think' or plan about what action to take (this could range from a simple feedback control principle to a machine learning model), then perform some action on the world to change the scenario in some way. Assistive Robotics is the field of study of applying all the advancements of robotics to assistive technology solutions that would benefit from 'thinking' devices. In this talk, I will highlight basic principles of 'thinking' machines and discuss the application of these principles to assistive technology with a primary focus on work performed in the Stanford Assistive Robotics and Manipulation Laboratory (ARMLab).

Biosketch: Monroe Kennedy III received his PhD in Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics, and a Masters in Robotics from the University of Pennsylvania where he was a recipient of both the NSF and GEM graduate research fellowships. His area of expertise is in robotics, specifically the development of theoretical and experimental approaches to perform control and estimation for robotic systems, in particular, robotic manipulation and human-robot collaborative tasks. He applies expertise in dynamical systems analysis, control theory (classical, non-linear, and robust control), state estimation and prediction, motion planning, vision for robotic autonomy, and machine learning.

Monroe is the director of the Assistive Robotics and Manipulation Lab (ARMLab) whose broad research objective is to develop technology that improves everyday life by anticipating and acting on the needs of human counterparts. ARMLab specializes in developing intelligent robotic systems that can perceive and model environments, humans and tasks and leverage these models to predict system processes and understand their assistive role. ARMLab focuses heavily on both the analytical and experimental components of assistive technology design. While the application area domain is autonomous assistive technology, the primary focus is robotic assistants (mobile manipulators and humanoids) with the goal of deployment for service tasks that may be highly dynamic and require dexterity, situational awareness, and human-robot collaboration.

• Tuesday, February 13th - Mid-term Student Team Project Presentations
• Thursday, February 15th - Field Trip to the Magical Bridge Playground

Product manufactuers and service providers are invited to participate in the Assistive Technology Faire - This twelfth annual course event is scheduled for Thursday, February 22nd and 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 join in on this event. Browse to the Call for Assistive Technology Faire Participants webpage for more information and contact me to register. Everyone is welcome to attend this event.

Six vendors have committed to participate this year. Here is the current line up and slides from last year's Faire.