Technological developments are not only focused on ordinary people. Developers are also creating particular technologies that can make life easier for people with disabilities. Anything?
People with disabilities sometimes find it challenging to carry out various activities. It is because some public institutions do not consider the actions of people with disabilities.
As a result, they have to work extra hard to be active. Amidst the difficult situations faced by people with disabilities, it is revealed that technology companies offer hope.
Slowly but surely, sophisticated technologies are emerging designed to make life easier for people with disabilities. At least the technology created can make it easier for them to carry out their activities.
To check it further, Our team has compiled writings about seven technologies that can improve the lives of people with disabilities. Come on, check out the review!
Deka robotic arms
The technology name is Deka Arm, developed by Deka Research and Development Corp. The aim is to support people with disabilities in their activities as an arm prosthesis.
This technology is also known as Luke, as Luke Skywalker’s artificial hand technology inspired it in the Star Wars films.
The Deka-Arm can be controlled by electrical signals from electromyogram (EMG) electrodes connected to the wearer’s muscles.
The EMG attached to the muscles sends a signal to the arm processor to interpret the signal into a movement. Later, the artificial arm will convert the signal into ten different directions.
iBot wheelchair
Wheelchairs aid people with disabilities, especially those with physical disabilities. As technology advances, wheelchairs continue to change.
Now scientists have come up with a sophisticated wheelchair technology called iBot. Toyota Motor Corp develops this technology.
The iBot wheelchair is a four-wheel drive motorized wheelchair capable of walking over rough terrain and climbing stairs.
It can also make it easier for users to communicate with others. Because the iBot can “stand up” to share in parallel.
This machine lifts the front wheels and stands balanced on the two rear wheels to reach the desired height. The ability to stand can also be made for users if they want to take things from a high place.
3D camera for the blind
Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have succeeded in developing a wearable device that helps the blind. This tool replaces the walking stick to guide the blind to walk safely.
This tool is a mini computer with a 3D camera that is hung around the neck.
In addition, there’s also a belt with haptic vibrations to signal the user and a braille board to show what items are in front of the user.
How it works The 3D camera recognizes the environment. If an object is at a certain distance, the user receives a vibration from the belt and can use a specific code on the braille board to check which things are around.
Eye play on the piano
You can develop virtual Reality (VR) technology to help people with disabilities. The Japanese VR manufacturer Fove, in cooperation with the Japanese Tsubuka University, has succeeded in developing VR for disabled people who want to play the piano.
The developed VR technology can convert the user’s eye movements and blinking into commands to press keys on the piano.
A technology called Eye Play The Piano has succeeded in replacing the hands of disabled people so they can play the piano without their hands.
QT robot
Luxembourg-based tech company LuxAI has launched a QT Robot robot for people with intellectual disabilities or autism.
The robot is designed to help with therapy so they can communicate properly and perform activities.
QTrobot can attract children’s attention and improve the learning of people with intellectual disabilities. The robot invites children with autism to play and learn so they can improve their skills.
The features of the robot are an LCD screen, robotic arm, 3D camera, and full processor. You can also customize the learning method provided by QTrobot according to the child’s needs.
Sound Shirt
Jackets can help deaf people hear music. In London, England, fashion company CuteCircuit has designed a coat to make deaf people feel the music through sensations.
The jacket is called the Sound Shirt. How it works, the jacket has 16 sensors that give the user a unique vibration. Jacket wearers feel the violin sounds in their arms and the drums on their backs.
Cochlear Implant
Cochlear implant technology is an innovation designed to improve hearing for the deaf. The cochlear implant is an electronic device that helps people who are completely deaf.
The cochlear implant technology consists of a microphone, a sound processor, a simulator transmitter, and a receiver. All of these devices are equipped with electrode implant bodies that are implanted in the ear.
A cochlear implant works in such a way that the microphone picks up sound and sends it to the sound processor.
In addition, the processor system analyzes the sound waves and converts the waves into a particular signal.
In the next step, the signal is sent to the implant body for translation and forwarded to the auditory nerve via electrodes or electrical impulses.
Finally, the message is sent to the brain to be processed into auditory or sound information for the user. Electrode implantation technology has been performed since the 1980s and has been performed in many countries around the world.
Ripple: Loudspeakers for the deaf
Ripple is a tool for the deaf. A unique speaker’s shape can produce sound like most other speakers but also visualize the sounds it makes in a tactile, visual representation.
Tactile representation is the representation of music in specific object movements that can be perceived by touch or tactilely. It means users with Ripple speakers can hold and feel the tones and sounds of music or songs that can only be perceived through the listener’s senses.
Aside from touch, the movement of objects created by Ripple can, of course, also be captured through the sense of sight. In this way, this unique and revolutionary speaker can be used by deaf and blind people.