WORKSHOP: Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America Student Design Challenge 2019

Rehabilitation Engineering And Assistive Tech Society Of Na, Arlington VA

Investigators

Abstract

This is funding to partially support the undergraduate Student Design Competition (SDC), which will be part of the 2019 RESNA conference to be held June 24-28. Today, over 70 million people in the United States report some degree of disability, a number which will likely grow in coming years as the so-called "baby boomer" generation ages. 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 both 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. The annual RESNA Conference and the Student Design Competition combine to create a forum for interaction between 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 with participants in previous SDCs, many of whom are now leaders in service, research, and education related to technology for persons with disabilities. All participants (not just the finalists) create blog posts that capture and archive their submissions, which remain accessible indefinitely through the RESNA website and the assistive technology AT Wiki. Thus, educators can share this information with their students as examples of projects that others have done, while service providers and persons with disabilities can search for unique solutions to barriers they may face. The annual RESNA Student Design Competition (workshop) 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 265 designs have been identified as winning entries from among over 850 submitted by students from over 125 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. 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. The content of all submissions, not merely the finalists, will be captured and accessed through the RESNA SDC website. Five industry-savvy judges will review the submissions and select at least 7 semi-finalist teams from which two representatives will be invited to attend the conference and present their working prototypes to determine the finalists. The teams will give 10-minute presentations to the judging panel on June 24 in a session open to all who are interested and in which the teams will interact with the judges, members of other teams and all who attend the session. The conference schedule includes a platform session where the finalists can present their designs to the general conference audience. In addition, finalists will have an opportunity to present their projects during the Developers' Showcase, which highlights new products under development (some past SDC student team designs have been patented and are now available commercially). This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.