6.S196: Principles and Practice of Assistive Technology

Course Information

PPAT (6.S196) is an interdisciplinary 12-unit project-based subject in which small teams of students will connect with a "client" (a person with a disability) in the Boston area, learn about his or her challenges, and develop an assistive device, solution, or technology that meets his or her needs. Some example projects might include adapted sports equipment, mobile phone apps for voice synthesis and communication, aids for people with visual impairments, aids for people with tremor, accessible e-book readers, more comfortable or hygienic fittings for prosthetic devices, or novel mounting solutions for wheelchairs and accessories. Over the semester, you will meet with the client and work on designs and prototypes that suit his or her requirements. You will also present your work to a panel of AT experts, six weeks into the term and at the end of the term. The projects may be a strong fit for entries into the MIT IDEAS Challenge/Global Challenge, the MIT100K entrepreneurship competition, or other design and product development venues.

The course will be led by Prof. Seth Teller (EECS), with contributions from Prof. Rob Miller (EECS) and a number of guest lecturers and panel members from the community.

We are seeking students at all levels and from all technical backgrounds, particularly students in II (ME), III (MSE), IV (Arch.), VI (EECS), IX (BCS), XVI (Aero/Astro), XX (BE), and HST. We expect that the range of projects will include software, sensing, electronics, microcontroller interfaces, mechanical design, and/or materials selection and prototyping. We have also initiated collaborations with the MIT IS&T Assistive Technology Information Center (ATIC), MIT Public Service Center (PSC), and MIT Edgerton Center. We have established partnerships with several client groups, including The Boston Home in Dorchester, The Carroll Center for the Blind in Newton, and the The Braintree Rehabilitation Hospital in Braintree and Natick.

This is a great opportunity to practice systems thinking and gain user-oriented engineering design experience while developing a solution that could have a positive impact on someone's life.

If you're thinking of taking this class, please fill out this short survey: http://bit.ly/6s196survey

Please contact TA William Li or Prof. Teller at ppat@csail.mit.edu with any questions.

Catalog Entry:

6.S196: Principles and Practice of Assistive Technology

http://www.eecs.mit.edu/cgi-bin/catalog.cgi?page=2011/data/208.dat

This interdisciplinary lecture- and project-based subject focuses on the effective practice of assistive and adaptive technology for individuals with disabilities. Lectures cover: design methods and problem-solving strategies; institutional review boards; human factors; human-machine interfaces; community perspectives; social and ethical aspects; and assistive technology for motor, cognitive, perceptual, and age-related impairments.

Lectures would be given by the course staff and by a number of external participants: colleagues from Boston-area and other organizations and companies developing assistive technology.

Students will work in small teams to identify an individual in the local community with a need for assistive technology, to understand the limitations that individual wishes to overcome, and to construct a prototype assistive device. Both staff and students would network extensively with local AT entities such as user groups, commercial firms, and government organizations to help understand and address the challenge. Regular in-class panels of users and outside experts will give the students frank feedback about their plans and progress.

Prior knowledge of one or more of the following areas would be useful:

  • software (1.00, 6.005, 6.170, or 16.35);
  • electronics (6.002, 6.070, 6.111, or 6.115);
  • human-computer interaction (6.813, MAS.630, MAS.771);
  • cognitive science (9.012, 9.14, 9.65);
  • mechanical engineering (2.007);
  • control (2.004, 6.302, or 16.30);
  • MIT hobby shop, MIT PSC, or other relevant independent project experience.

    Textbook:

    Cook and Hussey's Assistive Technologies: Principles and Practice (ISBN-10: 0323039073; ISBN-13: 978-0323039079)
    Authors: Albert M. Cook and Janice M. Polgar

    textbook cover image

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    To purchase a digital copy of the textbook from the Coop:

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