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Engineering Design Day Partnership

Since the mid 1990s the Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities and the College of Engineering have partnered to address accessibility challenges in ways that positively affect the lives of people with disabilities while simultaneously informing future engineers of the ways that accessible and universal design principles create broader product appeal. Each semester senior engineering students enrolled in ECE 480 team to tackle challenges including one or two projects dealing with disability access. Award winning accomplishments range from creation of the world's first talking washer and dryer fully accessible to people who are blind to smart heated clothing that assists people with quadriplegia regulate core body temperature. Projects are lead by faculty and expert team advisors including the RCPD's Assistive Technology Specialist. Projects are proposed by people with disabilities and sponsored by corporate or private entities interested in accessible design. People with disabilities participate as part of the expert team that guides concepts to completion. 

Are you a person with a disability with an idea for a future project? If so, tell us about the challenge at hand and how a team of student electrical and computer engineering students might become involved in addressing the challenge. Note that all submissions are public domain and that we cannot guarantee confidentiality or recognition.

For more information about the College of Engineering's Design Day visit their website.

 

Design Day Projects with RCPD support:

 

Beep Baseball Sound Location Evaluator - Winter 2007 and 2008

  • The game of beep baseball requires fast and accurate localization ability of the beeping baseball.
  • ECE 480 students created several beeping devices that enhanced the ability of users to hit and field balls more quickly. 
  • The different sounds and sound creating devices were evaluated in conjunction with the MSU Adapted Sports Club. 

Sip and Puff Interface - Winter 2008

  • ECE 480 students manufactured a sip and puff interface for a quadriplegic who needed to use several different applications on his computer and telephone on a daily basis. 
  • The team created the sip and puff environmental control system for him that was fully programmable and enabled him to configure the interface to do different tasks independently.

Proportional Chordic Keyboard - Winter 2007Doreen and the MSU Design Team testing a prototype system.

  • ECE 480 students successfully constructed an adjustable force control system for a quadriplegic woman who is unable to use standard computer input devices.
  • She was able to use this system to operate her electric wheelchair, navigate her computer operating system, communicate with her family and write a book of poety describing what her life is like and the many challenges she faces. 
  • The Proportional Keyboard was the recipient of the best of show award as determined by visitors on Design Day.

Multipurpose accessible machine interface/usability design tool - Winter 2005

  • ECE 480 students created a screen reader accessible Web designer tool that enables engineers to easily create methods for persons with disabilities to access equipment in their own homes and offices.
  • The project was demonstrated in using microwave ovens that are accessible to visually impaired individuals via the Web.

Detented, damped joystick for direct selection typing for use by individuals with spasmodic movement - Winter 2010

  • ECE 480 students in a currently active project goal to bring to market a control device for individuals with cerebral palsy and other motoric disabilities.
  • Using haptic feedback the direct selection joystick helps control tremor thereby enabling fast and accurate typing.

Wireless Chordic Keyboard - Winter 2004Jeff using his Wireless Chordic Keyboard.

  • The Artificial Language Laboratory (ALL) is working with a young man with a motoric disability.  As a result of a brain injury the student is visually impaired and experiences motoric disabilities.  The student has successfully used a custom chordic keyboard to type and do schoolwork on a computer.
  • ECE 480 students in consultation with the ALL and the student successfully constructed a wireless (Bluetooth) chordic keyboard. 
  • The Wireless Keyboard uses solid-state force sensing resistor keys that are activated by an adjustable force.
  • The Wireless Chordic Keyboard received second place in the Design Day competition.

Accessible Talking Whirlpool Washer - Winter 2004

  • Students successfully placed a voice prompter within the existing LED read outs for a Duet Whirlpool washer. 
  • The washer is able to clearly announce each function as it's selected and can run through a full range of selections.
  •  The Accessible talking Whirlpool washer received the third place prize in the Design Day competition.

Accessible Talking Whirlpool Dryer - Fall 2004

  • The Accessible talking Whirlpool dryer works in a very similar fashion as the Whirlpool dryer. 
  • Students placed a voice prompter within the existing technology of a Whirlpool dryer and implanted intelligent use of audio feedback.
  • The Accessible talking Whirlpool dryer received the first place prize in the Design Day competition.

Accessible Talking Fishing Boat Instrument System - Fall 2004

  • In conjunction with the Artificial Language Lab, the Fish Hawk Corporation, and the Michigan AgriAbility project, students from ECE 480 were able to create an audible sensor for fishermen with visual impairments.
  • Students were able to create circuits that were connected to sensors on the fishing boat that would provide auditory feedback of important data needed by fishermen such as trolling speed, down rigor speed, lake depth, down rigor depth, surface water temperature, and down rigor temperature.
  • The Accessible talking fishing board instrument system received the second place prize in the Design Day competition.

Portable Audio-Visual Book Reader - Fall 2007

  • ECE 480 students created an MP3 player that when text is highlighted and selected is read aloud.
  • The MP3 player has an algorithm that was developed for displaying synchronized lyrics and can be adapted or modified to serve as a portable book reader with highlighted text.
  • The Portable Audio-Visual Book Reader received the Professor's Choice Award at Design Day.

Accessible Fitness and Exercise Equipment - Fall 2005The design team and Michael Hudson uses the peddle exercise equipment for a short work out on Design Day.

  • Persons with visual impairments or mobility disabilities have limited opportunities to obtain proper exercise.  ECE 480 students worked with the MSU Intramural Fitness Center to outline ways in which exercise machines can be made accessible.
  • Students developed a wearable, talking PDA that accompanies a visually impaired exerciser that provides feedback on heart-rate and performance through the use of Bluetooth communications.   
  • Exercise machines at MSU Fitness Centers were adapted with Bluetooth transmitters needed to send signals back to the user.
  • The Accessible Fitness and Exercise Equipment invention was the Professor's Choice Award at Design Day.

Grain Bin Depth Sensor for Farmers - Fall 2006

  • Farmers with disabilities are challenged to climb storage bins where they store grain, soybeans and corn to visually monitor how full these containers are. 
  • ECE 480 students prepared a device that automatically measured the depth of these bins.  The readings were accessible for farmers through a wireless link to a farmer's handheld monitor.   

Mouse Emulation Attachment for a Wheelchair Joystick

  • Some wheelchair joystick users often have a difficult time using a mouse, touchpad or keyboard for computers. 
  • ECE 480 students constructed a wheelchair joystick add-on unit utilizing sensors that monitor the position of a magnet in the handle of the joystick.
  • When the user wishes to control the cursor on their computer screen they simply turn off their wheelchair and the joystick then becomes a mouse control device.

Microphone array system for hard of hearing - Fall 2003Part of the MSU student team holding the completed IR Sound System cabinet.

  • The beamforming microphone array evaluation system is an assistive listening device for hard of hearing professors to aid communication with students in noisy classrooms.
  • The microphone uses an IR control that enabled a hard of hearing professor on MSU's campus to interact with students.
  • The Beamforming Microphone Array Evaluation System received the third place prize in the Design Day competition.

Foot operated input device for individuals without hand control ability

  • ECE 480 students are developing technology similar to the detented, damped joystick for direct selection typing for individuals with good foot control but lacking the use of their hands.

Accessible automated material cutting machine for visual impairments - Winter 2008

  • ECE 480 students in conjunction with the ALL created an accessible production machine enabling a blind and cognitively disabled worker in a manufacturing facility operate machinery.
  • Demonstrated universal design and voice feedback to enable persons with disabilities to find employment in micro-enterprise environments.

 

Heated and cooled clothing for quadriplegic users - Winter 2009

 

Self calibrating infa-red body sensor for enabling individuals with motoric disabilities such as ALS to input information into computers

 

 

 

 

 

Contact Information

Stephen Blosser

Stephen Blosser

Assistive Technology Specialist
(517) 884-1914


RCPD at MSU © 2009
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