Brave 2.0

In a first step, we created a communication interface for an 8-year-old child who cannot speak but is eager to interact with his environment. His condition is characterised by motor impairments and dyskinesia.   

The challenges are firstly to create a device that is easy to use for a child, that does not increase his fatigue and that is in line with the communication tools he uses. We have to take into account the low precision of the movements as well as the instability of the head support. For this project to be successful, it was also crucial that the device met the criteria of safety, biocompatibility and ease of use for the family and therapists. 

The device we built consists of a large tray that can be attached to the user’s wheelchair in a similar way to the system they had before. This tray includes a controller based on capacitive sensing.

This type of sensor can be activated without applying force, and therefore has the advantage that it does not require tiring movement and additional force for the user. The controller is connected to the tablet via a bluetooth connection and is compatible with the Grid3 software.