by Alfred Poor | December 30, 2015 | Enabling Tech, General News
Millions of people have disabilities that prevent them from using their hands for tasks that many of us take for granted, such as interacting with a computer. The winning design in the MakerBot Thingiverse competition for the Assistive Technology Challenge addresses...
by Alfred Poor | October 28, 2015 | Enabling Tech, General News, Health
Patients with a wide range of chronic conditions and diseases can find it challenging to interact with devices that rely on traditional interfaces such as keyboards or touch screens. Spoken commands can fit some needs, but another promising approach is the use of eye...
by Alfred Poor | September 16, 2015 | Health, Medical
For the average person, the loss of a hand or arm can be an enormous physical and emotional challenge. Unfortunately, our military forces have to deal with this problem far too often. For this reason, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) spends a lot...
by Alfred Poor | July 8, 2015 | Health
If you are of a certain age, you may remember “mood rings.” These devices had heat-sensitive liquid crystal layers that would change color, with the idea being that your skin temperature would reflect your mood. A group named Team Turquoise has taken a...
by Alfred Poor | May 25, 2015 | Medical
When patients suffer a spinal cord injury, they often become paralyzed as their brain is no longer able to communicate with the muscles in their body. Robotics hold the promise of replacing the functions of a person’s limbs, but the problem of controlling...