Portable Seating Attachment for Autistic Individuals

Autism is a neurological disorder that impairs an individual’s ability to communicate and interact with others.It is often referred to as a spectrum disorder because there is a wide variation in symptoms among children.For example, one team member worked with a child with autism who was completely nonverbal, but instead used sign language to communicate, and an adult autistic person who had no trouble speaking.Autism is reported to occur in all racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups and in 2010, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated that 1 in 68 children in the United States identify with this disorder.Many people with autism also suffer from other disorders and symptoms.The disorder that the team’s device focuses on is sensory processing disorder.Sensory processing disorder (SPD) is a condition that has been found to affect three-quarters of children with Autism and prevents certain parts of the brain from receiving the information needed to interpret sensory information correctly.One of the senses that SPD affects is the vestibular sense, which uses semicircular canals in the inner ear to control balance and postural alignment.The damage that SPD causes to the vestibular system, which is important for postural alignment and balance, is especially detrimental to individuals who need to sit in a classroom or office for long periods of time.Those affected have trouble telling how their bodies are moving in relationship to space and gravity and exhibit behaviors such as repetitive fidgeting, slouching, and sliding off their chair.Positive forms of vestibular input that help these individuals to remain in place include linear swings, trampolines, and rocking chairs.The team approached the director for the Autism Society of Oregon to discuss what product would best serve the needs of the autism community and those who have this condition.Currently, alternative seats such as ball chairs, gel cushions, and motorized gliding chairs are used to address the need for vestibular input.The issue is that these seats are either too large to carry around when an individual moves to a new environment or are limited to one function such as bouncing.The team members decided to address this issue by designing a portable and multifunctional seating attachment.Since vestibular damage is found in multiple disorders (e.g. Autism, attention deficit disorder, traumatic brain injury), the design of this seating attachment could have a widespread effect on classroom and workplace performance

Axiomatic design of a manually powered wheelchair lift mechanism

Thesis (S.B.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 2007.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 65-66).The objective of this research is to create an inexpensive mechanism which gives wheelchair users the ability to adjust the vertical height of their chair while seated. There are currently 1.5 million manual wheelchair users in the United States. However, no manual height adjust mechanisms are available in the current marketplace. Increased vertical range of sight and reach will result in unprecedented levels of independence for wheelchair users. We applied the theory of axiomatic design as a methodology for designing a mechanism to fill this compelling unmet need. Careful consideration of the functional and physical domains guided us to an effective solution to this design problem. A proof of concept prototype was created to demonstrate the potential of this design solution. This prototype is capable of lifting a person of 2501bs weight 15 inches off of the ground while seated in the wheelchair. This design solution is viable, and with continued work we hope that it may someday come to fruition as an effective and useful product.by Kevin DiGenova and Chris Coleman.S.B

Periodicity of high-order functions in the CNS Final progress report, year ending 30 Jun. 1971

Analysis of cerebral slow potentials underlying human attentive processes in central nervous syste

Movers and Shakers: Kinetic Energy Harvesting for the Internet of Things

Numerous energy harvesting wireless devices that will serve as building blocks for the Internet of Things (IoT) are currently under development. However, there is still only limited understanding of the properties of various energy sources and their impact on energy harvesting adaptive algorithms. Hence, we focus on characterizing the kinetic (motion) energy that can be harvested by a wireless node with an IoT form factor and on developing energy allocation algorithms for such nodes. In this paper, we describe methods for estimating harvested energy from acceleration traces. To characterize the energy availability associated with specific human activities (e.g., relaxing, walking, cycling), we analyze a motion dataset with over 40 participants. Based on acceleration measurements that we collected for over 200 hours, we study energy generation processes associated with day-long human routines. We also briefly summarize our experiments with moving objects. We develop energy allocation algorithms that take into account practical IoT node design considerations, and evaluate the algorithms using the collected measurements. Our observations provide insights into the design of motion energy harvesters, IoT nodes, and energy harvesting adaptive algorithms.Comment: 15 pages, 11 figure

Adaptive Golf Device

Our primary objective was to design a golf device that enables its user, who has limited leg movement and control, to be able to produce a balanced golf swing. Ultimately, the device maximizes the golfer\u27s independence, and increases the accuracy of and power behind each shot. Specifically, the device was designed around the needs and requirements of Dr. Joshua Pate, Professor of Adapted Recreation at James Madison University. Dr. Pate has cerebral palsy limiting his lower body mobility and making it difficult for him to produce a balanced golf swing

Refining personal and social presence in virtual meetings

Virtual worlds show promise for conducting meetings and conferences without the need for physical travel. Current experience suggests the major limitation to the more widespread adoption and acceptance of virtual conferences is the failure of existing environments to provide a sense of immersion and engagement, or of ‘being there’. These limitations are largely related to the appearance and control of avatars, and to the absence of means to convey non-verbal cues of facial expression and body language. This paper reports on a study involving the use of a mass-market motion sensor (Kinect™) and the mapping of participant action in the real world to avatar behaviour in the virtual world. This is coupled with full-motion video representation of participant’s faces on their avatars to resolve both identity and facial expression issues. The outcomes of a small-group trial meeting based on this technology show a very positive reaction from participants, and the potential for further exploration of these concepts