Some ideas discussed during the first meeting were:
- An eye-track software to paper drawing tool that would take eye movement input and translate that to coordinates for a writing untensil on paper.
- A toy car with a gas pedal that would be adaptable to more accessible (AT) inputs.
- A block stacker that is adaptable to common AT inputs.
In addition, we also discussed issues with current AT:
- Some programs are not compatible with some devices.
- Some switches are not too effective as they have flaws:
- Switches click too many times due to being held down
- Wand bounces back up and creates second, unwanted input.
(Something I concluded):
- AT is very expensive for what it actually is. Opening a switch, I have found that is it just a micro switch (found in computer mice). They cost less than a dollar per piece. The switch that I opened was (listed on Ablenet) upwards of $50-75. This is most likely due to small scale production, but at any rate, this is very costly.
The goal moving forwards is to pick one of these projects to start with.
The feasibility of these projects will be determined, and a plan will be put together next week.
Micah, I'm a little shocked with the price difference! Maybe you could even start by making switches more cost effectively for us! We have a new program opening at the Williams elementary school and we'll have multiple switch users in one location so we could try a few different types.
ReplyDeleteApologies for the late reply, I wasn't notified when a comment was added.
DeleteI think this is a great idea. I will post an update regarding this. I will start the design process.