Result-Oriented Multidisciplinary Capstone Design to Aid Persons with Disabilities

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PI: Zhuang, H., Masory, O. and Roth Z. S.Proposal Number: 1033815 The aim of this project is to use engineering capstone designs to aid elderly and persons with disabilities; and to enhance undergraduate engineering education through multidisciplinary collaboration, hands-on experimentation, and entrepreneurship. In the capstone project, students will utilize and adapt available technology to create devices to assist persons with disabilities from the perspective of users. To this end, at the first course of the Engineering Design sequence, students who become involved in this grant will be referred to healthcare facilities, such as Morselife and Center for Aging Seniors, and to local schools that host students with learning disabilities, in order to gather information regarding current needs, available solutions, and what the latest technology can offer. Once data is gathered, a number of brainstorming sessions will be conducted to help the students select the most promising ideas, with assistance from students of Psychology, Nursing and Business majors. Then, teams will be formed, and resources will be allocated to attack the issues undertaken with vigor. Collaborations between FAU and healthcare centers will further advance the knowledge, skills, compassion, and entrepreneurship of the students. Intellectual Merit: a) Design projects will be aimed at directly benefitting elderly and handicapped persons and will be initiated as a result of the interactions with caretakers and users, emphasizing technical innovation, ease of use, and commercial potential. b) Design teams will be made up of students of Mechanical, Electrical and Computer Engineering majors, and projects will be further benefitted from the involvement of students of Psychology, Nursing and Business majors, who will be consulted at every major step of the design. c) Commercialization will be another consideration. Invention disclosure will be required of all projects funded through the program. Students of Business major will bring the knowledge and expertise in business planning, management and marketing. Broad Impact: a) Produced devices and software developed through collaboration between FAU and MorseLife will contribute to society through aiding elderly and handicapped persons. b) Commercialization effort may lead to start-up companies that benefit the local economy. c) Through annual reports to NSF, presentations, publications, and patent disclosures, the ideas, program progress and experiences will be disseminated.