The effects of a steer assist system on bicycle postural control in real-life safety challenges

With aging, the sensory, motor, and central nervous system deficiencies lead to inadequate bicycle postural control in older cyclists. Similarly, variety in riding skills leads to different bicycle postural control strategies. Cycling seems to be an automated task but keeping the bicycle stable at low speed, pedaling, and steering requires...

Developing a go to market strategy for an assistive technology product

The number of visually impaired cases have been exponentially rising in recent time; there are 30Mil visually impaired people in Europe . This has lead to the creation of a big industry of assistive technology devices for the visually impaired community. Envision, a start-up developing artificial intelligence products for the visual impaired,...

A novel design for decoupling the energy storage and return in passive ankle foot prostheses: A redesign of the VSPA foot

Conventional passive prosthetic feet cannot provide net positive mechanical energy, causing a strong reduction in push-off work. This decrease the comfortable walking speed and increases the metabolic cost of walking in amputees, as more than half of the positive work performed during able-bodied gait is done during the powered plantar flexion...

The Role of Subjective Well-Being in Co-Designing Open-Design Assistive Devices; design case study

In this paper we explore the role of subjective well-being within the process of making together a personalized assistive device. Through a process of social product adaptation, assistive artifacts become part of occupational therapy and co-evolve with clients. Personal digital fabrication tools enable small user groups to make and share their...

Postboard: Free-form tangible messaging for people with aphasia (and other people)

In this paper we report the design of a communication system for people with aphasia. It consists of pairs of physical whiteboards that are connected over the internet. This allows users to combine any personal language skills with visuals and already existing materials at hand. The design has been based on feedback and evaluation sessions with...