2011 RESNA Student Design Competition

这笔资金将用于支持学生设计竞赛（SDC），该竞赛将成为6月5日至8日在加拿大多伦多举行的2011年度RESNA会议的一部分。今天，美国有4000万到5600万人报告有某种形式的残疾，随着婴儿潮一代步入晚年，这一数字在未来几年可能还会增长。RESNA（前身为北美康复工程学会）是一个专注于为残疾人提供技术的国际组织。RESNA的会员包括涵盖一系列学科的个人和机构（包括研究人员、临床医生、供应商、制造商、消费者和非营利和营利性机构的教育工作者），所有这些人都致力于促进辅助技术进步的思想和信息交流。除了年度会议之外，RESNA还为辅助技术从业者、康复工程技术专家和供应商以及赞助项目提供资格认证计划。RESNA的技术标准委员会是ANSI的美国技术咨询小组，ANSI是美国在国际标准化组织（ISO）的官方代表，负责制定有关残疾人辅助技术和其他产品的ISO标准。RESNA学生设计竞赛旨在促进创新和创造力，最终目标是生产能够帮助残疾人独立的技术。第一届SDC于1980年举行，是RESNA首届会议的一部分。从那时起，超过200个设计被确定为获奖作品，这些设计是从来自115所不同大学的学生提交的600多份作品中选出的。SDC参赛作品只能代表学生的作品，包括设计文件；本科生和研究生都有资格参加。许多过去的参与者现在都是与残疾人技术相关的服务、研究和教育领域的领导者。过去的一些学生设计已经获得专利，现在可以在商业上使用。国家科学基金会自2005年以来一直是它的支持者。今年的拨款将进一步扩大和加强发展局，以接纳更多参赛作品，并支持更多设计团队，特别是来自少数族裔、女性和残疾人士的设计团队。会议网站上发布了一份邀请参与的通知，并以电子方式分发给大量有工程和设计学院的学院和大学。由5名评委组成的团队将从最多10个团队中预选参赛作品，每个团队将邀请两名成员参加会议，并提供旅行和酒店资金以及免费注册。在为期半天的会议中，各团队将在评审和公众观众面前进行演讲，最终选出5支团队作为最终获胜者。评委将有机会向设计团队提问并提出建议和建议。将举行一个平台会议，5名决赛选手将向大会与会者发表演讲。所有受邀参加会议的SDC团队将有机会在大会期间的海报环节展示他们的项目。影响：一年一度的RESNA会议和学生设计竞赛结合起来，为工作和经验丰富的康复工程师和即将进入该领域的学生之间的互动创造了一个论坛。该活动的独特之处在于其主要关注本科生，为参与者提供经验和技能，帮助他们在工程和设计职业生涯中取得成功。它进一步鼓励和指导不同学科的学生参与辅助技术和康复工程领域，并为学生提供与同龄人和康复工程师交流的机会，其中许多人参加了以前的SDC比赛。为了在未来几年增加向发展局提交的作品的多样性，今年的参赛者将制作网页，展示他们的设计和设计过程。不仅年轻科学家将从这种传播媒介中受益，而且教授和教师也将能够将这些信息作为其他人已经完成的项目的例子与他们的学生分享。所有提交作品的内容，而不仅仅是最终入围者，将被捕获并通过RESNA网站访问。这些信息可以通过assistivetech.net上的国家公共互联网站点和ATWiki进行搜索。使用现有的全国搜索引擎将使教授能够在他们的课程中使用设计信息，同时使服务提供者和残疾人能够为他们可能面临的障碍寻找独特的解决方案。

This is funding to support the Student Design Competition (SDC), which will be part of the 2011 annual RESNA conference to be held June 5-8 in Toronto, Canada. Today, between 40 and 56 million people in the United States report some type of disability, and this number will likely grow in the coming years as the baby boom generation enters late life. RESNA (formerly the Rehabilitation Engineering Society of North America) is the one organization with an international focus that is devoted solely to technology for individuals with disabilities. RESNA's membership consists of individuals and institutions covering a range of disciplines (including researchers, clinicians, suppliers, manufacturers, consumers and educators who work in non-profit and for-profit settings), all of whom are dedicated to promoting the exchange of ideas and information for the advancement of assistive technology. In addition to its annual conference, RESNA conducts a credentialing program for assistive technology practitioners, rehabilitation engineering technologists and suppliers, as well as sponsored projects. RESNA's Technical Standards Board is the U.S. Technical Advisory Group to ANSI, the official U.S. representative to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), for the development of ISO standards pertaining to assistive technology and other products for persons with disabilities.The RESNA Student Design Competition fosters innovation and creativity with the ultimate goal of producing technology that can contribute to the independence of individuals with disabilities. The first SDC was held in 1980 as part of the inaugural RESNA conference. Since then, over 200 designs have been identified as winning entries, chosen from more than 600 submissions by students from over 115 different universities. SDC entries are required to represent the work of students ONLY, including the design documentation; both undergraduates and graduates are eligible to take part. Many past participants in the event are now leaders in service, research, and educational areas related to technology for people with disabilities. Some past student designs have been patented and are now available commercially. NSF has been a supporter since 2005. This year's funding will enable the SDC to be further expanded and enhanced, so as to include more entries and support for more design teams, especially from minorities, women, and individuals with disabilities. A call for participation has been posted on the conference website, and also distributed electronically to a large number of colleges and universities with engineering and design schools. A team of 5 judges will pre-select entries from up to 10 teams, from which two members each will be invited to attend the conference supported with travel and hotel funds as well as complimentary registration. During a half-day session in which the teams will make presentations before the judges and public audience at the conference, 5 teams will ultimately be selected as the final winners. Judges will have an opportunity to ask questions and make suggestions and recommendations to the design teams. A platform session will be held in which the 5 finalists will make presentations to the general conference attendees. All SDC teams invited to the conference will have an opportunity to present their projects in a poster session during the general conference time. More information is available online at http://www.resna.org/conference.Broader Impacts: The annual RESNA Conference and the Student Design Competition combine to create a forum for interaction between working and experienced rehabilitation engineers and students who are about to enter the field. Unique in its primary focus on undergraduates, the event provides participants with experience and skills that help them succeed in their engineering and design careers. It further encourages and mentors students in various disciplines to become involved in the assistive technology and rehabilitation engineering fields, and also provides an opportunity for the students to network with their peers and rehabilitation engineers, many of whom participated in previous SDC competitions. In an effort to increase the diversity of submissions to the SDC in future years, this year's participants will build web pages to illustrate their design and design process. Not only will young scientists benefit from this medium of dissemination but professors and those who teach will also be able to share this information with their students as examples of projects that others have done. The content of all submissions, not just the finalists, will be captured and accessed through the RESNA website. The information will be searchable through the National Public Internet Site on assistivetech.net and the ATWiki. Use of an existing national search engine will allow professors to use design information in their course work, while allowing service providers and people with disabilities to search for unique solutions to barriers they may face.