Enabling Technologies Laboratory Student Design Program

使能技术实验室（ETL）学生设计项目为韦恩州立大学的本科工程专业学生提供了设计和创建原型、定制设计设备、软件和服务的机会，以帮助残疾人。学生进行设计活动的环境不仅补充和整合了他们之前的学术经验，而且自然地将研究，教育和社区服务融为一体。学生设计项目与ETL关于提高人类身体和认知能力的技术影响和有效性的研究相协调，重点是残疾人的需求。易访问和通用的设计原则是这些研究和设计活动的关键要素，ETL的客户基础和合作伙伴网络在过去的十五年中持续增长。残疾退伍军人及其各自的组织最近加入了ETL历史上多样化的社区网络，包括CARF和NISH附属机构、特殊教育学校和培训中心、寻求雇用或留住残疾工人的小企业以及当地康复诊所。ETL的学生设计项目反映了这个日益多样化的群体的需求。笼统地说，通用和无障碍设计旨在支持尽可能多的人在不需要辅助设施或辅助技术的情况下，以尽可能广泛的能力支持无障碍和有能力的参与。物理可达性仍然是一个优先事项，因此人体工程学的考虑是所有设计项目的重要因素。然而，随着人口的老龄化和各种形式的认知障碍或创伤性脑损伤患者的增加，认知可及性变得越来越重要。通用和可访问设计的基本设计原则是将智能构建到环境、产品或服务中，以便这种“环境智能”或“无处不在的计算”可以在需要时提供认知支持。智力优势：ETL学生项目倾向于分为三大技术领域：机电系统、环境智能系统和通用设计。机电一体化系统可以满足人体工程学和物理需求。通过集成嵌入式微处理器、智能传感器和无线通信技术，环境智能实现了将智能构建到环境、产品和服务中的通用设计原则，这些技术可以与提供信息、指导和支持的人进行通信。这样的设计工作具有智力上的价值，因为它们在智力上具有挑战性，并为ETL学生提供了使用与人类/系统交互相关的最先进技术的机会。更广泛的影响：ETL学生设计过程确保了团队在社区中。他们与设计的用户以及参与组织的代表会面并进行互动。根据过去的经验，已经清楚地表明，这种积极的参与创造了项目的更广泛的影响：1)通过ETL强大的社区网络与当地社区建立联系，2)利用技术帮助残疾人，3)教育社区如何以及在哪里获得资源和服务，4)在工作、教育、休闲和社区参与方面支持残疾人，5)为参与的工程专业学生提供接触残疾人的机会，了解他们的需求和挑战，6)与执业工程师和地区企业合作，7)对ETL设备需求和资源的行业支持，以及最近8)提高学生的创业意识，并通过ETL和Life Beyond Barriers合作等项目支持他们的创业兴趣。“跨越障碍的生活”是一个鼓励和支持学生创业的项目。它是韦恩州立大学、密歇根康复研究所和城市科学公司的合作伙伴关系。城市科学公司的老板是韦恩州立大学的一名毕业生，他为创业计划提供资金。

PI: ErlandsonProposal Number: 1263723The Enabling Technologies Laboratory (ETL) Student Design Program provides Wayne State University's undergraduate engineering students with the opportunity to design and create prototypes, custom designed devices, software and services to aid persons with disabilities. Students conduct their design activities in an environment that not only complements and integrates their previous academic experiences, but also naturally integrates research, education, and community service. The student design projects are coordinated with ETL research on the impact and effectiveness of technologies that enhance human performance, both physically and cognitively, with an emphasis on the needs of individuals with disabilities. Accessible and universal design principles are key elements in these research and design activities ETL's client base and collaborator network has continued to grow over the past fifteen years. Veterans with disabilities and their respective organizations have recently been added to ETL's historically diverse community network of CARF and NISH affiliated agencies, special education schools and training centers, small business seeking to hire or retain workers with disabilities, and local rehabilitation clinics. ETL's student design projects reflect the needs of this increasingly diverse population. Loosely speaking, universal and accessible design seek to support accessibility and competent participation by as many people as possible with as broad a range of abilities as possible without the need for accommodations or assistive technology. Physical accessibility remains a priority and as such ergonomic considerations are a significant element in all design projects. However, cognitive accessibility has taken on greater significance with our aging population and the increase of people with one form or another of cognitive impairments or traumatic brain injury. A fundamental design principle of universal and accessible design is to build intelligence into the environment, product or service so that such "ambient intelligence" or "ubiquitous computing" can provide cognitive support if required. Intellectual merit: ETL student projects tend to fall into three broad technological areas: mechatronic systems, ambient intelligence systems, and universal design. Mechatronic systems can address ergonomic and physical needs. Ambient intelligence enables the universal design principle of building intelligence into environments, products and services by the integration of embedded microprocessors, smart sensors, and wireless communications technologies that can communicate with people providing information, guidance and support. Such design efforts possess intellectual merit in that they are intellectually challenging and afford ETL students the opportunity to work with state-of-the-art technologies related to human/system interactions. Broader Impacts: The ETL student design process ensures that the teams are out in the community. They meet and interact with users of their designs as well as representatives from the participating organizations. Based on past experience it has been clearly demonstrated that such active engagements create the broader impacts of the project: 1) interfacing with the local community through ETL's strong community network, 2) using technology to help persons with disabilities, 3) educating the community on how and where to obtain resources and services, 4) supporting persons with disabilities in work, education, leisure and community participation, 5) providing the participating engineering students exposure to people with disabilities, their needs and challenges, 6) engagement with practicing engineers and area businesses, 7) industry support of ETL equipment needs and resources, and more recently 8) raising the entrepreneurial awareness of our students and supporting their entrepreneurial interests with programs such as the collaboration of ETL and Life Beyond Barriers. Life Beyond Barriers is a program to stimulate and support student entrepreneurism. It is a partnership of Wayne State University, the Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan and Urban Science a company owned by a Wayne State graduate who is funding the entrepreneurial initiatives.