RESNA Student Design Competition: Technology Solutions for People with Disabilities

这笔资金将用于支持学生设计竞赛（SDC），该竞赛将成为6月22日至24日在华盛顿贝尔维尤举行的2013年度RESNA会议的一部分。今天，美国有超过5400万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，即北美康复工程和辅助技术协会，是唯一一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。有关RESNA及其年会的更多信息，请访问http://www.resna.org。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，作为首届RESNA会议的一部分；从那时起，来自124所不同大学和高等院校的学生提交了780多份设计，其中250多份设计被确定为获奖作品。本科生和硕士研究生都有资格提交参赛作品，参赛作品必须仅代表学生的作品；没有教师或专业人士可以作为共同作者，尽管教师可以作为顾问和/或导师被提及。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。会议日程安排包括一个平台环节，决赛选手将向大会观众展示他们的设计；此外，决赛选手将有机会在年度开发者论坛上展示他们的项目，重点介绍正在开发的新产品（过去一些SDC学生团队的设计已经获得专利，现在可以在商业上使用）。今年会议新增了专门设计的学生专场，包括：康复工程与技术职业；演讲技巧;如何为同行评议期刊写作辅助技术中的工程概念：非工程师课程。更广泛的影响：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以及以前的SDC比赛参与者建立联系的机会，其中许多人现在是与残疾人技术相关的服务，研究和教育领域的领导者。此外，延续了几年前开始的做法，所有参与者（不仅仅是决赛选手）都将创建博客文章，捕捉并存档他们的提交，这些将通过RESNA和ATWiki无限期地保留。因此，教师也将能够与学生分享这些信息，作为其他人已经完成的项目的例子，而服务提供者和残疾人将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 2013 annual RESNA conference to be held June 22-24 in Bellevue, Washington. Today, more than 54 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, the Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology 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 United States 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. More information about RESNA and its annual conference is available online at http://www.resna.org. 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 250 designs have been identified as winning entries from among over 780 submitted by students from over 124 different universities and institutes of higher learning. Both undergraduate and master's level graduate candidates are eligible to submit entries, which must represent the work of students ONLY; no faculty or professionals may be included as co-authors, although faculty may be mentioned as advisors and/or mentors. 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. The conference schedule includes a platform session in which finalists will present their designs to the general conference audience; in addition, finalists will have an opportunity to present their projects during the Annual Developers' Forum which highlights new products under development (some past SDC student team designs have been patented and are now available commercially). New this year and incorporated into the conference is a Student Track with specifically designed sessions, including: Rehabilitation Engineering and Technology Careers; Presentation Skills; How to Write for Peer Review Journals; and Engineering Concepts in Assistive Technology: A course for Non-Engineers.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 encourages and mentors students in various disciplines to become involved in the assistive technology and rehabilitation engineering fields, and provides an opportunity for the students to network with their peers as well as participants in previous SDC competitions, many of whom are now leaders in service, research, and educational areas related to technology for people with disabilities. Furthermore, continuing a practice started a few years ago, all participants (not just the finalists) will create blog posts that capture and archive their submissions, and these will remain accessible indefinitely through the RESNA and the ATWiki. Thus, those who teach will also be able to share this information with their students as examples of projects that others have done, while service providers and people with disabilities will be able to search for unique solutions to barriers they may face.