REU Site: Assistive Technologies for People with Disabilities

University Of Texas At Arlington, Arlington TX

Investigators

Abstract

This Research Experiences for Undergraduates site will engage a diverse cohort of undergraduate students in a research experience with the development of assistive technologies for people with disabilities to address socially good causes through invention and creation. The research themes include innovative applications, tools, and systems for communication, monitoring and tracking, social interactions, assistive robots, visual and hearing aids, and smart care. Participants will receive purposeful experience in leadership, ethics, communication, academic writing skills, hands-on training, and learning group-based collaboration. The program will broaden participation in computing by providing research opportunities to underrepresented groups mentored by multiple faculty and graduate students. The program will help enhance students' numbers, quality, and equity in research-oriented computing, especially females and minorities. It will also expand their interest and ability to conduct basic research, hone their professional skills, and prepare them for career paths and graduate school. The research program will provide a valuable undergraduate experience through scholarly activities, advancing state-of-the-art artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotics, sensors, and human-computer interfaces. The activities will be synergistically engrained in innovation and discovery, with intellectual depth and real-world impact. Participants will explore emerging technologies in contexts such as new means of communication for persons with disabilities and service providers, machine-assisted data collection, and providing means for care and wellbeing while exploring new frontiers in convergent research across disciplines. They will be immersed in a multi-disciplinary research community of students, professors, and application domain experts for pursuing essential discovery and innovation through a collaborative framework. Students will acquire publication and dissemination skills, including technical writing, oral presentation, literature review, and authoring papers. 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.