Engineering Senior Design Projects to Aid Persons with Disabilities

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0931643HefzyThis grant will allow senior students from the Department of Mechanical, Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering (MIME) at The University of Toledo (UT) to design and fabricate custom made devices for persons with disabilities identified by the Ability Center of Greater Toledo (ACT).The ACT is a non-profit center for independent living with a mission to assist people with disabilities to live, to work, and to socialize in the community. As part of their training and education, senior engineering students at UT are required to complete one capstone design course called Senior Design Projects. During this course, students design, construct and test an original or a custom-modified device to meet objectives specified by a customer. The objective of this grant is to support projects performed by undergraduate engineering students at UT as their senior design projects. The proposed activities will provide an opportunity for the MIME students at UT to be involved with projects that are directed to aid persons with disabilities. These projects consist of the design and fabrication of custom-built devices for persons with disabilities. These projects will be conducted in collaboration with the ACT. Ten projects per year will be executed. The user satisfaction and his/her perception of the degree to which each completed project achieves the desired goal will be evaluated using the Quebec User Evaluation of Satisfaction with Assistive Technology (QUEST) tool. Written reports on the completed projects will be submitted for annual publication in the yearly NSF book for Engineering Senior Design Projects to Aid Persons with Disabilities. Also, an annual report that includes a description of the completed projects and the availability of funds will be provided by the PI by July 1 of each grant year. Students will also be encouraged to present their completed projects at national conferences and participate in design competitions. Each student team will prepare a web-page to disseminate information about their projects.Intellectual Merit: The intellectual merits of these projects are as follows:- To enhance the education of student engineers through the experience of designing and building devices to meet a real need with feedback on how well the device satisfies the need.- To provide opportunities for UT engineering students to enhance their understanding of the influences of physiological, psychological, environmental, and biomechanical factors on the design of assistive devices for individuals with disabilities.Broader Impacts: The broader impacts of these projects are as follows:- These projects will result in the design and construction of devices that will assist persons with disabilities to better enjoy life and realize their maximum potential without suffering from the associated financial burdens. Such devices would be prohibitively expensive if they had to be designed by a professional and constructed in local shops; in general they are not available ready-made at any price.- These projects will provide the MIME department at UT and its students with an opportunity to offer a unique service to the local community.- At the end of each semester, an exposition is organized to display the prototypes built by the students along with final presentations. This event is covered by the local Media to include television, radio and newspapers. Community leaders, health care providers' representatives, persons with disabilities and their families, high school students and teachers, local professional society members, and the UT community attend this exposition. These activities provide exposure to science and technology for pre-college teachers, young people, and other nonscientist members of the public, thus contributing to and impacting education and human resources.- The outreach and impact of these projects also include allowing the viewing audience in local television, radio and newspapers:i) To know the types of services provided within the community to aid people with disabilities.ii) To see what difference an educational experience can be when community, independent living centers and universities work hand in hand.