Tablet PCs In
Socially Relevant Projects
Michael Buckley
University of Buffalo
Here’s The Problem...
We needed an experience for
undergraduate projects teams that was
Un-simulated
Intense
Meaningful
Reflective
The Target Population
Those who could benefit from the
intelligence, creativity, hard work
of students
Those who could not command the
technology themselves
Those whose quality of life would benefit
The Tablet PC
Reduced the cost of touch-activated
control from $6,000 to $1000
Reduced the cost of programmable touchactivated control from $10,000 to $1000
Made touch activated control available to
an army of students
Our Clients And Customers
Our First Client:
ElderWood Senior Care At
Oakwood, Williamsville, NY
Motivation
David, a 43-year old stroke patient who has been speech impaired
for over 20 years
Previously communicated using a letter board
Commercial technology solutions were not adequate for David
Result
The UB Talker was developed for David by students
VESID (Vocational and Educational Services for Individuals with
Disabilities) has purchased a tablet PC for David
David will be working with our research group as a consultant
UB Talker
Goal – Give those people
without the ability to speak, a voice
Target Population – Handicapped/disabled
who have limited motor skills and have
difficulty with voice communication
Phase I – Adult Talker
Phase II – Child Talker
Phase III – For the visually impaired, and
for the severely handicapped (no motor skills)
UB Talker
Allows for the creation of sentences,
phrases and speeches that can be
spoken with the push of a button
Phrase and Word Completion –
Based on frequency of use, last-used
Content Prediction – Time and
Context – Based on time of day,
day of week, season
Auto-Scan
An Alternative Design
UB Talker
The Center For Handicapped
Children, Williamsville, NY
Center Based Program
CHC LEARNING CENTER provides educational and therapeutic
programming for pre-school and school age children (infant to 21 years
of age) who are medically frail and technologically dependent
Home Based Program
Certified special teachers and licensed therapists provide service
in the home for infants and young children unable to attend the
center based program
Support Services
Occupational, Speech and Language, and Physical Therapies are
available to all students at CHC LEARNING CENTER
Philosophy
CHC LEARNING CENTER recognizes the need for support for the
families of children with disabilities and the benefits to child and family
when services are truly comprehensive and integrated
DISCO
Interface multiple inputs (switches) to
yield multiple outputs (lights and sound)
through the use of a computer to create
a cost-effective learning tool for disabled
and handicapped students
This tool accommodates a variety of
needs beyond the hand and eye
The use of lights, fog, music, video, etc.
to create soothing and entertaining stimuli
DISCO
Simple choice-making and the realization of
cause-and-effect are a central goal of early
education for the physically handicapped and
developmentally delayed, especially children
The relationship between physical action
and ultimate effect is not necessarily natural
The ability to select between alternatives
of increasing number is part of a student’s
Individual Education Program (IEP) from early-on
DISCO
The mechanism used usually presents
large colored switches which respond
with different noises or spoken words:
First a single switch
Then two, then four
Until sufficient cause-and-effect is
established to graduate the student to a
more powerful augmentative communications
device such as a touch-screen talker
Hardware Setup
Interfacing Hardware
To A Tablet PC
From Measurement Computing
…To AC Power
From StarMagic
…To Lights and Sound
Others
Unrestricted internet navigation using
a single switch (e.g., head switch)
Motorized wheelchair controlled from a
remote laptop (with cameras and safety
sensors, etc.) to teach mobility
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