COURSE PROJECT – ABILITYONE NETWORK DESIGN CHALLENGE Goal: Develop an assistive technology that can empower people with disabilities to overcome barriers to employment. One of the fundamental concepts in ergonomic design is to fit the task to the worker. In the case of disabled workers, the challenge may be greater, but this objective remains the same. ! Over 36% of the US population can be classified as disabled in one or more categories ! First place: $10,000 Second place: $5,000 Third place: $3,000 + Travel paid for…

The AbilityOne Program and NISH (National Industries for the Severely Handicapped) Providing employment opportunities to tens of thousands of people, the AbilityOne Program is the largest single source of employment for people who are blind or have other severe disabilities in the United States. Close to 600 participating NPAs employ these individuals and provide quality goods and services to the federal government at a fair price. To learn more about the AbilityOne Program visit abilityone.org. NISH is a national nonprofit agency whose mission is to create employment opportunities for people with severe disabilities by securing federal contracts through the AbilityOne Program, for its network of community-based, nonprofit agencies (NPAs). To learn more about NISH visit nish.org/designchallenge.

Objective: NISH will accept functioning prototypes or systems that create greater access to employment for people with disabilities in these areas: Computer Access Environmental Accommodations Functional Control and Access Transportation/Mobility Communication Assistance Cognitive Accessories Any device or system that gives access or improved earnings to people with disabilities

Keep in mind: If you or your team is selected as one of the finalists, a representative from each award-winning team will be invited to attend a NISH- sponsored conference during the Spring/Summer of This representative will be expected to provide a poster display at the conference and may be requested to give a presentation on the device during a conference session. To ensure that these devices meet the workforce needs of people with disabilities they must be developed in collaboration with a person with a disability. Additionally, greater consideration will be given to those applicants who have consulted with a nonprofit agency (NPA), that is part of the AbilityOne network, in the design process. NISH can connect students and universities with NPAs who are interested in collaborating in the development of assistive technology devices. NISH can also provide technical consultation to assist students in the design process. Contact for more information.

Course Project Requirements: 4 groups of 3 and 1 group of 2 Work with a disabled person assigned Contacts number of the contact services specialists from Reach Inc, will be assigned over the next couple of weeks. Utilize a survey to understand their needs and to identify the problem. Paper format, please refer to sections IV. –VI., following the specified format guidelines will be part of your grade. Keep it to ~4-5 pages, this doesn’t include illustrations or other graphics, videos, etc. Consider anthropometric needs, ADA guidelines, see pgs. 206 in text book.

General Notes See section IX. – a prototype must be built, however as part of your 413 project grade you do not have to build a prototype. However, you must use CAD (or a similar application) to illustrate your design. After presentations are made by each group at the end of the semester, all students including myself and Len will select their top designs. The project ranked the highest will be chosen to apply to the competition, I will work with you to find the means to build your prototype (so keep in mind as you are designing keep it feasible given cost and time constraints) here at MSU (fabrication lab) and submit that to the competition end of spring semester. Even if yours isn’t the chosen one, and you think it’s a strong candidate – I encourage you to APPLY!

Due 10/8 - 1 page typed summary on what your course project idea and approach will be (this includes the survey and tools you plan to administer).