Brave 2.0

 

Type of project: Prototyp

Disability concerned: Motor disability

Themes: Nutrition, Physical condition and psychological well-being, Interpersonal relations, Associative and spiritual life, Work.

Status: Completed

 

The device we have 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 detection.

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.  

On each side of the controller, two pictogram sheets are placed. The main reason for having a non-interactive part for the board, is to keep the user’s current cues in the way of communicating with his surroundings.  

In a second step, the objective is to make the system more compact and easier to use by developing a graphical interface allowing the child to learn to use the tablet in a playful way.  

In addition, we are working on how to adapt this system to a wider range of people with a similar disability. 

Brave 2.0 Layer

Contact

Hackahealth, BR4VE 2.0

Laura Puyet

laura.puyet@epfl.ch

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