How a Diverse Research Ecosystem Has Generated New Rehabilitation Technologies: Review of NIDILRR’s Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers

Over 50 million United States citizens (1 in 6 people in the US) have a developmental, acquired, or degenerative disability. The average US citizen can expect to live 20% of his or her life with a disability. Rehabilitation technologies play a major role in improving the quality of life for people with a disability, yet widespread and highly challenging needs remain. Within the US, a major effort aimed at the creation and evaluation of rehabilitation technology has been the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers (RERCs) sponsored by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research. As envisioned at their conception by a panel of the National Academy of Science in 1970, these centers were intended to take a “total approach to rehabilitation”, combining medicine, engineering, and related science, to improve the quality of life of individuals with a disability. Here, we review the scope, achievements, and ongoing projects of an unbiased sample of 19 currently active or recently terminated RERCs. Specifically, for each center, we briefly explain the needs it targets, summarize key historical advances, identify emerging innovations, and consider future directions. Our assessment from this review is that the RERC program indeed involves a multidisciplinary approach, with 36 professional fields involved, although 70% of research and development staff are in engineering fields, 23% in clinical fields, and only 7% in basic science fields; significantly, 11% of the professional staff have a disability related to their research. We observe that the RERC program has substantially diversified the scope of its work since the 1970’s, addressing more types of disabilities using more technologies, and, in particular, often now focusing on information technologies. RERC work also now often views users as integrated into an interdependent society through technologies that both people with and without disabilities co-use (such as the internet, wireless communication, and architecture). In addition, RERC research has evolved to view users as able at improving outcomes through learning, exercise, and plasticity (rather than being static), which can be optimally timed. We provide examples of rehabilitation technology innovation produced by the RERCs that illustrate this increasingly diversifying scope and evolving perspective. We conclude by discussing growth opportunities and possible future directions of the RERC program

Educational inclusion and new technologies

The development of new technologies creates affordances with the potential to remove barriers to learning faced by young people. New technologies have therefore been seen as both a panacea for problems in developing inclusive education, and as a way of allowing a diverse range of learners to access and engage with the curriculum in its broadest sense. This chapter critically considers these views by drawing on a range of selected research. This research uses different methodologies and educational contexts to sample different levels of use, and different aspects of new technology. The case studies included here illustrate particular issues in developing and using technology. The cases studies cover: using Tablet PCs in schools, and developing educational robotics as an inclusive curriculum activity, developing pedagogic practice with morphing software and interactive software designed for dyslexic learners and Schome Park, an interactive virtual environment. The chapter considers how technology is used in these cases and the degree to which is has supported, educational inclusion. This offers an insight into innovative educational practice and research and supports an analysis of the factors which influence the impact of potentially inclusive technolog

Sorterius: Game-inspired App for Encouraging Outdoor Physical Activity for People with Intellectual Disabilities

People with intellectual disabilities have difficulties in reaching the World Health Organization's (WHO) suggested level of physical activity. Previous research shows that participating in physical activities often is related to self-efficacy in a physical activity setting and personal motivation. As physical activity has significant effects on physical and mental health, this thesis aimed to develop a mobile application that could help people with intellectual disabilities be more physically active. In the process of creating an encouraging and user-friendly mobile application, this project includes literature reviews, meetings with experts in the field, discussions with special education teachers and teachers working with people with intellectual disability, and the author's own experience with this user group. The project relies on guidelines and theory to create a user interface to fit people with intellectual disabilities. This thesis presents a cross-platform mobile application that combines the digital and real world. Using augmented reality, players walk around in the real world looking after digital garbage. As they walk, they will find garbage on the ground and get the option of sorting the garbage in the correct garbage bins. The game's main objective is to look for garbage and throw it in the correct garbage bin. As users progress throughout the game, they earn stars based on their step count while playing the game. Together with family members or assistants, they can add weekly physical activity goals and earn special rewards created by family members or assistants. Usability testing is mainly done on special education teachers, social workers, psychologist, and researchers working with people with intellectual disabilities. It revealed that creating a mobile application focusing on everyday life scenarios can have a potential value for the targeted user group. However, testing also showed that using augmented reality can be challenging. Long-term testing on individuals with an intellectual disability will start in the upcoming weeks in a study conducted by the University Hospital of North Norway (UNN), in collaboration with UiT The Arctic University of Norway

Creating a bespoke virtual reality personal library space for persons with severe visual disabilities

This is an accepted manuscript of an article published by ACM in JCDL '20: Proceedings of the ACM/IEEE Joint Conference on Digital Libraries in 2020, available online: https://doi.org/10.1145/3383583.3398610 The accepted version of the publication may differ from the final published version.We present our work on creating a virtual reality personal library environment to enable people with severe visual disabilities to engage in reading tasks. The environment acts as a personal study or library to an individual, who under other circumstances would not be able to access or use a public library or a physical study at home.We present tests undertaken to identify the requirements and needs of our users to inform this environment and finally present the working prototype.Published versio

Virtual Reality for the Visually Impaired

This thesis aims to illuminate and describe how there are problems with the development of virtual reality regarding visually impaired people. After discussing the reasons how and why this is a problem, this thesis will provide some possible solutions to develop virtual reality into a more user accessible technology, specifically for the visually impaired. As the popularity of virtual reality increases in digital culture, especially with Facebook announcing their development of Metaverse, there is a need for a future virtual reality environment that everyone can use. And it is in these early stages of development, that the need to address the problem of inaccessibility arises. As virtual reality is a relatively new medium in digital culture, the research on its use by visually impaired people has significant gaps. And as relatively few researchers are exploring this topic, my research will hopefully lead to more activity in this important area. Therefore, my research questions aim to address the current limitations of virtual reality, filling in some of the most significant gaps in this research area. My thesis will do this by conducting interviews and surveys to gather data that can further support and identify the crucial limitations of the visually impaired experience while trying to use virtual reality technology. The findings in this thesis will further address the problem, creating a possible solution and emphasizing the importance of user accessibility for the visually impaired in the future development of virtual reality. If digital companies and developers address this problem now, we can have a future where visually impaired people are treated more equally, with technologies developed specifically for them to experience virtual worlds.Master's Thesis in Digital CultureDIKULT350MAHF-DIKU

Teaching ADHD Kids using Augmented Reality

Teaching ADHD Kids Using Augmented Reality (ADHD-Edu) is learning software for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) children in pre-school by using augmented reality (AR) approach. By combining AR with current teaching tools such as computer and projector, learning environment will completely change into a new dimension. ADHD – Edu will help ADHD children getting as much input as possible compare to current teaching tools which are not compatible with their ability. With the interactive module in this software, ADHD children will learn effectively despite of their hyperactive behavior

ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY FOR EDUCATING PERSONS WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY

Technology has changed and continues to change the way people manage things in their lives and it is analogous in the life of Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) through integration of technology in education. Meaningful inclusive education can be made possible with the help of Assistive Technology (AT) since it helps in identifying and overcoming all barriers for effective, continuous and quality participation of all PwDs including those with intellectual disabilities in education. This article attempts to put forward few measures that provide effective education to Persons with Intellectual Disability through the support of assistive technology specifically designed by understanding their educational needs in order to maximize their academic success. Assistive technology pertinent to various domains of education and developmental areas with appropriate examples and case study is also being illustrated. Barriers to access assistive technology and recommendations to remediate it are also discussed in comprehensive manner.  Article visualizations

The VESPA Project: Virtual Reality Interventions for Neurocognitive and Developmental Disorders

VESPA is a financed project supported by the Sicilian Regional Research and Development funds, and it is structured by the development, research and validation of Virtual Reality (VR) based application for the diagnosis and treatment of neurocognitive conditions. In particular, this article presents its characteristics, referred to as the first (2013-2015) and second (2021-ongoing) generations of VESPA, with particular reference to literature regarding the VR technology application and development, the VR treatment of neurocognitive conditions and prior versions of this intervention. Through a comprehensive review of the research conducted over the last 5 years, evidence has emerged supporting VESPA’s aim and scopes, highlighting how the application of VR can be considered to add value to typical rehabilitation/therapeutic paths. VESPA project generations are then presented in detail, including specific session/task battery characteristics, 2.5D, 3D and 5D typologies, system usability and architecture and pathological domain-based dynamics and features. The discussion about VESPA will highlight the current advantages along with limitations and future directions