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***SPECIAL EDITION***
September 12, 2002
NSF-Supported Innovation: Devices to Assist Persons
with Disabilities
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has a long history
of supporting research to aid persons with disabilities.
Through targeted studies to develop new products and
broadly based programs to educate the next generation
of engineers and scientists, NSF has backed projects
that help people with disabilities transcend common
challenges. The news tips below present samples of
recent innovations from NSF programs that seek to
resolve those challenges.
For more information on these science news and feature
story tips, please contact the public information
officer at the end of each item at (703) 292-8070.
Editor: Josh Chamot
Contents of this News Tip:
Interactive
Robot Motivates Children with Physical Disabilities
An interactive robot named
CosmoBotTM is teaching children
with speech, language and other developmental
disabilities how to express themselves.
Built to withstand active play, CosmoBotTM
looks like a spunky sidekick from a science
fiction movie, with fully mobile appendages,
motorized wheels beneath its feet, and
a mouth that moves.
The robot captures attention by mimicking
a child's movements and voice, and can
guide the child through educational and
therapeutic activities under the direction
of a therapist.
The robot was developed by Corinna Lathan
of AnthroTronix, Inc., in College Park,
Maryland, with support from the National
Science Foundation's (NSF) Small Business
Innovation Research (SBIR) Program and
the Department of Education's Rehabilitation
Engineering Research Center (RERC) on
Telerehabilitation.
A user controls CosmoBotTM with
wearable sensors, by voice, or with a
mission control station, depending on
the therapy. The toy is also wired to
accept updated software and inputs from
the Internet.
"The interactive technology behind CosmoBotTM
has roots in military research," said
NSF program manager Sara Nerlove. "To
move this technology to the arena of language
development for children with severe or
multiple disabilities is a bold and innovative
step."
Through such activities as Simon Says,
children learn to mimic or control the
CosmoBotTM using their own
speech or motor coordination. As the child
improves in the motor and speech goals,
the robot can be programmed to create
greater challenges.
The robot has three modes a therapist can
activate. In the Live Play mode, CosmoBotTM
responds immediately to controls or input.
For example, a physical therapist will
ask a child to cause the robot to raise
its left arm by having the child raise
his or her own left arm.
In the Simon Says mode, CosmoBotTM
gives the child such commands as, "Simon
Says, raise your arms!" If the child responds
correctly, the robot rewards the child
by moving to the command and providing
additional praise and encouragement.In
the Play and Record mode, a child can
record sounds or movements for playback.
For example, a child can sing a song,
CosmoBotTM records it, and
then the child and robot can sing along
together.
Early trials with CosmoBotTM,
and its predecessor JesterBotTM,
suggest that the toys motivate children
who have developmental disabilities and
prompt spontaneous and imaginative responses
in speech and language therapy. The company
has plans to further test and develop
CosmoBotTM for other applications
in therapy, education and play. [Josh
Chamot]
For information on CosmoBotTM,
see: http://www.anthrotronix.com
For a PBS video clip on the device, see:
http://telerehab.cua.edu/TeleRehabpenings/health.mov
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In this graphic concept, a child interacts
with CosmoBotTM via wearable
sensors and/or controls on Mission Control.
The therapist controls the mode of play
between the child and CosmoBotTM
through Mission Control or the therapist
toolkit, a graphical interface on a handheld
computer or desktop. The electronic devices
are in wireless communication with each
other and the data from the session are
automatically saved for future use.
Image courtesy: AnthroTronix, Inc.
Graphic by Carlson Bull, Eeltail, LLC.
Select image for larger version
(Size: 45KB)
Dr. Corinna Lathan poses with CosmoBotTM,
an "alien" space robot that
her firm designed to be used in therapy
and educational applications for children
with disabilities. Children with disabilities
will be able to meet educational or therapeutic
goals using the toy in various applications
that can be configured by teachers, therapists
and parents. The CosmoBotTM
system is being developed with motivation
in mind so that the therapist can focus
on providing quality therapy rather than
just trying to make therapy fun.
CosmoBotTM's wheels can move
forward, backward, left, and right, its
arms can move up, down, together, and
apart, and its head can move up and down
("yes"), left and right ("no"),
and any combination of the two. CosmoBotTM's
mouth also moves. The robot's arms, head,
and mouth can be programmed to move to
any position within their specified ranges
of motion.
Photograph courtesy: AnthroTronix,
Inc.
Select image for larger version
(Size: 44KB)
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Electronic
Tutor Teaches Mathematics in Braille
Using a combination of Braille and synthesized speech,
a new device teaches fundamental mathematics to people
who are visually impaired. The successful Speech Assisted
Learning (SAL) system, developed with NSF SBIR support,
offers unique lessons in Braille math that augment
a teacher's instruction, combating a shortage of Braille
teachers.
Teens and adults who are visually impaired, and people
with sight interested in learning Braille, can use
SAL to study independently with only occasional support
from an instructor. Developed by Sally Mangold of
Exceptional Teaching Aids, Inc., SAL is a flat, notebook-size
device onto which students place special Braille sheets.
Each SAL sheet bears a UPC barcode the SAL device
uses to determine the words on the page. As a student
runs his or her fingers across the Braille text, the
student can press down on a letter, word or number
that he or she is having trouble remembering and the
SAL will pronounce it. With a second press, SAL will
spell a word or describe a mathematical symbol.
"Braille is much more than raised dots on a page,"
said Mangold, who is visually impaired, "it is opportunity,
enlightenment and empowerment."
The latest version of the device displays mathematics
in vertical, horizontal or word problem formats. The
SAL system can present, in a Braille format, the same
mathematical concepts and problems that appear in
regular print books.
The SAL developers also installed high-quality speech
synthesizers for English and Spanish so one device
can provide curriculum in both languages.
"When you maximize someone's abilities, you minimize
their disabilities," said Mangold. "The overwhelming
public response to SAL supports our belief that SAL
begins a new era in Braille instruction for children
and adults," she said.
The special curriculum consists of individually embossed
sheets of Braille and a data file for each lesson.
A student places a single sheet on the pressure sensitive
touchscreen and inserts a 3.5-inch diskette into the
SAL system for each book or problem set (a flash media
card enables users to input larger lessons).
"SAL is an innovative approach to instruction in an
area in which there is a teacher shortage," said NSF's
Sara Nerlove. "SAL provides supplementary instruction
of Braille in a manner that can be tailored to meet
the needs of many different blind persons - no matter
what their ages or circumstances," she said.
In addition to allowing students to work on studies
at home, the SAL system will bring Braille instruction
to a greater number of venues, such as schools, libraries,
and government centers - institutions that may lack
the staff to teach Braille full time. [Josh
Chamot]
Dr. Mangold will demonstrate the SAL system in Room
110 of the National Science Foundation building in
Arlington, Virginia at 10:00 AM on Thursday, September
26. Contact Josh Chamot at jchamot@nsf.gov
to register to attend.
For information on SAL, see: http://www.exceptionalteaching.com/index_files/page0002.htm
and
http://www.freedomscientific.com/fs_products/sal_overview.asp
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Young Engineers
Build Accessibility
To graduate from accredited, undergraduate engineering
programs, students need to complete a senior design
course. As part of an NSF program, engineering seniors
across the country devote their course time to solving
an accessibility problem for a person with disabilities.
Beginning in 1988, the program - now called the Research
to Aid Persons with Disabilities Undergraduate Design
Projects' Activity - has supported rising engineers
at dozens of universities. While some projects are
later marketed, the program aims to meet a specific
need for an individual with a unique concern or an
inability to afford a more expensive technology.
"Participants in the activity have a hands-on, face-to-face,
relationship with specific disabled individuals,"
said NSF program director Gilbert Devey. "The experience
is far different and more rewarding than being confined
in what can be an inanimate environment in the traditional
engineering design laboratory," he said.
The hundreds of projects have ranged from straightforward
innovations, such as a "Sock Genie" (created by Christopher
Baxter of SUNY-Buffalo to help persons with back and
joint ailments put on socks) to complex systems, such
as a voice-activated apartment (created by Greg Browinski,
Douglas Thompson, and Sean O'Connell of the University
of Massachusetts at Lowell). The Lowell students used
only $100 and an old personal computer to wire the
apartment of a Massachussetts man paralyzed from the
neck down so he could control nearly every electronic
device by voice command.
"The 'real-world' experience that comes from directly
aiding a fellow human gives engineering students an
enormous sense of purpose and pride," said Devey.
Engineering programs from across the country have reported
that students have benefited from the program as much
as recipients, learning first-hand how disabilities
affect people, and assisting their "clients" and others
with disabilities well after graduation. [Josh
Chamot]
For information on NSF's Biomedical Engineering &
Research to Aid Persons with Disabilities (BME/RAPD)
program, see: http://www.eng.nsf.gov/bes/Programs/
Biomedical_Engineering_Basic/biomedical_engineering_basic.htm
For complete listings of all senior design projects
through 2001, see: http://nsf-pad.bme.uconn.edu
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"Pick and
Click" Software Improves Internet Access for the Visually
Impaired
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This is the screen that Microsoft Internet
Explorer displays for the front page of
the New York Times.
Image courtesy: JBliss Imaging Systems
Select image for larger version
(Size: 177KB)
This is the screen that PnC Net displays
for the front page of the New York Times
in "Enlarge All" mode (i.e., both the
pictures and text are enlarged). The enlarged
letters are smooth, without jagged edges,
and can be adjusted to be bigger or smaller
as needed. In addition, the lines of text
in the column have been shortened to fit
on the screen.
As in the other modes, PnC Net will read
the text aloud on this page starting from
the top, or from a highlighted selection.
As PnC Net reads the text, the word being
spoken is highlighted. Other portions
of the page can be brought into view with
the mouse, arrow keys, PageDown key or
enlarged scroll bars.
Image courtesy: JBliss Imaging Systems
Select image for larger version
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Researchers have developed a new Internet browser that
improves web access for people with visual impairments.
Dubbed PnC Net, the software enhances any website
on the Internet by magnifying graphics, organizing
links into lists, and translating text into spoken
audio.
PnC Net is an expansion of the "Pick and Click" (hence
PnC) technology developed by Charlie Tran and Jim
Bliss of JBliss Imaging Systems with support from
the NSF SBIR program. PnC Net works with Microsoft
web products, yet specifically addresses web navigation
from the perspective of someone with visual impairments.
"In developing PnC Net, we wanted people with low vision
to have the same access to Internet power as everyone
else," said Bliss. "The success of our early users
indicates that PnC Net is a major step in that direction."
Where a standard Microsoft Internet Explorer webpage
demands a degree of hand-eye coordination to navigate
using buttons at the top of a screen, PnC Net eliminates
the buttons - replacing most of them with a simple
list.
Using only a mouse, or arrow keys and the Esc and Pause/Break
keys, a user can bring different parts of an enlarged
page into view, start or stop a voice synthesizer
at any point in the text, and tab through the links,
downloading the selected one. The enlarged text and
link names are spoken by the synthesizer, with the
browser highlighting each word as it is spoken.
Because the Internet Explorer tool bars are eliminated,
the web page fills the entire screen. In addition,
the user can magnify the page up to 10 times if necessary.
And as an added bonus, the software can even eliminate
pop-up advertisements, if desired.
While PnC Net generally preserves page layout - with
scrollbars allowing a user to access the entire page
- text wraps to fit into the column or screen. PnC
Net will also allow a user to select specific text
for the synthesizer to read using a mouse or a "Find"
function.
"PnC Net's simplified system for access to the Web,
e-mail and text files addresses the needs of a growing
population that currently under-utilizes computer
and Internet technology," said NSF program manager
Sara Nerlove.
While visually impaired individuals can navigate the
web using computer adaptations, early studies suggest
that PnC Net users can navigate more rapidly and with
greater ease than those who use existing aids.
"Reading the newspaper, purchasing goods and services,
managing bank and stock accounts, obtaining medical
information, and communicating with email are all
tasks low vision PnC Net users are learning to do
quickly and easily," said Bliss. [Josh Chamot]
For information on PnC Net, see: http://www.jbliss.com/pncNet.html
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