Giving the gift of independence: Students invent solutions to empower peers with disabilities
As part of the Department of Biomedical Engineering’s BME for Good — or bGood — community engagement initiative, budding engineers partnered the NUS Office of Student Affairs in developing user-centric solutions for students with disabilities.
The student teams, from the BN4103 Assistive Technology for Persons with Disability module, worked in close consultation with their ‘clients’, and applied their knowledge and skills from the course. They conceptualised and designed prototypes with the users’ feedback in mind, giving rise to practical inventions that make a truly tangible difference in the latter’s lives.
One team, for example, came up with JustKiap, a lightweight, portable prototype that allows users with limited or no manual dexterity in one hand to carry out activities that require the use of both hands, such as opening packages. Another team invented the Super Stretcher 3000, which uses remote controls to help people with physical disabilities do conditioning exercises for the lower body.
Read more about the module and the experiences of the bGood teams and their beneficiaries.