Developing an inclusive curriculum for visually disabled students

[Aims] The purpose of this guide is to help staff identify and remove the barriers that visually disabled students may encounter when studying one of the GEES disciplines - i.e. geography, earth and environmental sciences - and to suggest ways in which students can be helped to enjoy a fulfilling learning experience. Some of the advice and guidance offered will be generic, reflecting the importance of a strategic approach within institutions and departments to the planning and delivery of inclusive curricula. However, much of the advice will apply to specific forms of visual disability, and to the demands made by the study of GEES disciplines. Moreover, because each student is unique, most of what is discussed here will need to be made relevant and personal to individual students. It is a key principle of this guide that a blanket approach to the management of the learning needs of visually disabled students on a GEES programme of study is likely to be ineffective

Touch-Screen Technology for the Dynamic Display of 2D Spatial Information Without Vision: Promise and Progress

Many developers wish to capitalize on touch-screen technology for developing aids for the blind, particularly by incorporating vibrotactile stimulation to convey patterns on their surfaces, which otherwise are featureless. Our belief is that they will need to take into account basic research on haptic perception in designing these graphics interfaces. We point out constraints and limitations in haptic processing that affect the use of these devices. We also suggest ways to use sound to augment basic information from touch, and we include evaluation data from users of a touch-screen device with vibrotactile and auditory feedback that we have been developing, called a vibro-audio interface

Innovation of Crutches

The following project focuses on the redesign of crutches, and more specifically, a redesign of the most common type of crutch, the axillary crutch. Every year, there are approximately 21 million Emergency Room visits for lower leg injuries, many of which would lead to short term crutch use [1]. In this project, we attempted to correct common issues associated with the use of the axillary (underarm) crutch such as pinched nerves, poor posture, and exhaustion with use. We also identified the problem of common crutches not being suited for certain body types such as the difference in body shape between men and women, therefore trying to change the overall shape of the crutch to be suitable for those of all size and shapes. Over the course of three semesters, we have successfully created three sets of prototype crutches. In these prototypes, we successfully implemented our research on structures, materials, and energy return to create a more ergonomic, safe, and user-friendly assistive device. As a culmination of the junior and senior engineering projects, this project shows how research and redesign processes can be implemented effectively