Samantha Cole writes for Popular Science that researchers from MIT’s Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics are developing boots that pulse and vibrate to warn the wearer of nearby obstacles. Cole explains that the researchers see the technology “as valuable not only for space walks, but for firefighters, the elderly, or those with compromised sensory systems.”
In a Wall Street Journal article about designing clothing for people with disabilities, Christina Binkley highlights the MIT Open Style Lab. The program brings together students to create apparel for varying needs, including “flat seams that don’t irritate the skin of children with sensory disorders and rain coats that cover wheelchair users’ laps more effectively.”
Jon Christian reports for The Boston Globe on FitSocket, a device created by researchers in MIT’s Biomechatronics group that gathers data used to create personalized prosthetic sockets. “We’re treating the body as a mechanical thing, because it is,” explains graduate student Arthur Petron.
MIT students collaborated with residents of the Boston Home, a facility for adults with neurological diseases, to create InstaAid, an app that acts as a call button for nurses on the campus, writes Virgie Hoban for The Boston Globe. “The app preserves the independence of people contending with debilitating diseases," Hoban explains.
CNN reporter Lauriel Cleveland writes about the MIT Open Style Lab, which brings students together to design clothing for individuals with disabilities. "Dressing is such a basic and intimate need,” explains MIT graduate and Open Style Lab co-founder Grace Teo. “We hope to restore the independence and dignity of dressing to people with disabilities."
Trent Gillies writes for CNBC about how MIT researchers are developing wearable devices to aid the visually impaired. The research, which is funded by the Andrea Bocelli Foundation, “would help blind people, especially in cities, move around alone,” reports Gillies.
Nidhi Subbaraman of BetaBoston writes about the affordable wheelchair made out of bike parts developed by Prof. Amos Winter. Winter and his team have now created a second wheelchair that allows riders to “navigate ski slopes and bike trails.”
Julie Lee writes for The Huffington Post about a recent study conducted by the MIT AgeLab and The Hartford Financial Services Group to determine the top technologies for drivers over 50. “The study looked at how well technologies meet the unique needs, concerns and priorities of experienced drivers,” Lee writes.
Aviva Rutkin writes for New Scientist about an infrared navigation system developed by graduate student Dhruv Jain that helps visually impaired people find their way. Roshini, or “Light” in Hindi, gives audio directions to users telling them where to step and warning them of hazards.
Brady Dale writes for Fortune about how researchers in Professor Harry Asada’s group are working on developing a robot that can act as an extra set of limbs for factory workers. The machine would conduct the less-skilled tasks in a two-person job, freeing up the other worker.
Boston Globe reporter Kathleen Burge writes about the MIT Open Style Lab, which was founded by MIT graduate Grace Teo to bring together teams of students to “design clothing for clients with amputations, spinal cord injuries, early-onset arthritis, and other disabilities.”
In this news video, The Boston Globe reports on the MIT Open Style Laboratory, where teams of design, engineering and occupational therapy students combine forces to design accessible fashion.
Andrea Timpano writes for Boston Magazine about how students at the Open Style Lab are designing fashionable and functional clothing for people with disabilities. “What we’ve noticed is even if you have the best intentions, the best product, the most helpful technology, if it doesn’t look great, people don’t want to wear it,” explains MIT graduate Grace Teo.
Bloomberg Businessweek reporter Danielle Muoio writes about the FingerReader, a ring developed by researchers from the MIT Media Lab to help people with visual impairment read. “The ring’s webcam takes pictures of a group of words and then funnels the images into a companion app on a computer, which then reads the text out loud,” Muoio reports.
In a piece for Forbes, Federico Guerrini writes about the FingerReader, a device designed to help visually impaired people read. Guerrini writes that the device, which allows users to scan a line of text and receive an audio feedback, has the potential to be a, “real game changer.”