Winter Quarter 2010 Course Announcement

David L. Jaffe, MS and Professor Drew Nelson
Tuesdays & Thursdays   4:15pm - 5:30pm
William Gates Computer Science Building, Toshiba Classroom, Room B12 (lower level)

Call for Project Ideas, Users / Coaches, and Support

Project Ideas

I am contacting you to solicit student project ideas for an assistive technology course at Stanford University this coming academic year.

The fourth 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 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 family members or health care professionals) to identify assistive technology needs, brainstorm ideas, formulate design solutions, fabricate devices, test them with users, and report their efforts.

In the past several years, many projects involving assistive technology have been undertaken. Previous years' projects were:

2009	iPhone Dialer for Individuals with Visual Impairments
	Handi-Cart for Wheelchair Shoppers
	Sonification of Movement for Individuals with Movement Restricting Disabilities
	Opening Doors for Wheelchair Users
2008	Device to Press Elevator Buttons for Wheelchair Users
	Liquid Metal Cane for Individuals who are Blind
	Mobility Motivation Device for Children with Cerebral Palsy
2007	Accessible Fishing Pole
	Aid for Donning an Artificial Leg
	Device to Facilitate Moving Elderly People around Their Home
	Rain Protector for Wheelchair Users
2006	Affordable Electric Page Turner for Individuals with ALS
	Standing Aid for Children with Cerebral Palsy
	Wheelchair Lift

The best projects typically win national design awards, even when competing against year-long design courses at other schools.

Project Ideas: At this time, I would like to solicit your project ideas / suggestions. The broad requirements for projects are:

• Deliverable: Projects must involve designing and fabricating a device (or software) to help individuals with disability. Projects that assist family members or health care professionals in caring for individuals with disabilities are also welcomed.

• Overlap: Projects should focus on actual needs or problems that are inadequately addressed by commercial products and could include diagnostic and rehab therapy equipment as well as personal devices.

• Scale: Projects must be of appropriate scale and complexity to be completed (fabrication and testing of a prototype) in one quarter (10 weeks).

• Expertise: Projects must be compatible with the skill level and expertise of students in ENGR110/210. They typically have mechanical engineering backgrounds, although some may have some computer hardware and software experience.

• Cost: The estimated cost of any parts or fabrication must be modest, no more than a thousand dollars.

• Participation: 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 identify the need, offer advice during the quarter, and test the prototypes.

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

Please send me project ideas you have so they can be compiled into a list and offered to students in the first class session (Tuesday, January 5th). To best convey your project ideas, I suggest that you formulate them into three short paragraphs:

1. Problem: briefly describe the problem or unmet need for the device you have in mind

2. Aim: describe what the device should do

3. Specifications: list the operational features and characteristics of the proposed device

There will be an opportunity for you to present your project suggestions to students in the second class session (Thursday, January 7th). The students will then consider all the offerings and choose projects that most interest them.

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

Users and Coaches

Your assistance is also sought for the names of local individuals who would benefit from the finished product as well as experts who would be able to coach the students on their projects. The experts would be expected to provide advice and expertise in the specific areas addressed by the project (mechanical, electrical, electronic, computer systems; knowledge of fabrication and testing techniques; and sources of materials); and be available by phone and/or email.

Project Support

Finally support for these projects is needed. A monetary gift of $5000 per project supports approved project expenses, honorariums for speakers, and administrative costs. Contributions of lesser amounts will also be considered.

Please contact me if you have any questions about the course and thank you for your project suggestions.

David L. Jaffe, MS

Stanford University

Terman Engineering Center

380 Panama Mall, Room 567

Stanford, CA  94305-4021

650/892-4464

dljaffe -at- stanford.edu

Updated 12/02/2009

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