Update: Submissions to IDeA contest showcase accessible design

Six teams of Carleton students submitted entries to the Council of Ontario Universities 2013 IDeA contest.

The contest invites undergraduates from all disciplines to propose ideas that can improve accessibility and inclusion for persons with disabilities and accepts a maximum of two submissions in each of five categories from each university based on issues identified in the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). This year, Carleton students have submitted: an affordable prosthetic hand (video above); an adjustable heigh wheelchair seat; a collection of products building on a hand-powered tricycle to explore accessibility and economic opportunities for people in Uganda; an offroad motorcycle for riders with lower limb disabilities; a dot navigation system for visually impaired athletes; and a presentation for students on IDeA.

Selected as a finalist is the low-cost 3D printed prosthetic hand with intelligent EMG control designed in the Department of Electronics as a fourth year project. The team of Tim Inglis, Alim Baytekin, Alborz Erfani and Natalie Levasseur were supervbised by Dr. Leonard MacEachern. The team will showcase the project at the Ontario Centres of Excellence Discovery 2013 Conference.

View this year’s submissions. In 2012, Carleton students won 1st and 2nd place.