REMOTE-CONTROLLED COMMUNICATIONS AND CONTROL UNIT

THE LONG-TERM OBJECTIVE OF THIS RESEARCH IS TO DEVELOP A PROCESS BY WHICH A WIDE VARIETY OF COMMUNICATIONS AND CONTROL AIDS CAN BE MADE AVAILABLE AT LOW COST TO INDIVIDUALS WITH IMPAIRED MOBILITY. THE PHASE I FEASIBILITYSTUDY WILL ASSESS THE PROCESS OF RE-ENGINEERING COMMERCIALLYAVAILABLE SUBSYSTEMS INTO A COMBINED FUNCTIONAL UNIT. A PROTOTYPE, OR "PROOF-OF-CONCEPT", MODEL TO VALIDATE THE CONCEPT WILL THEN BE DEVELOPED. THIS WILL BE DONE BY ASSESSING THE "SHORTFALLS" BETWEEN THE NEEDS OF THE IMPAIRED AND THE AVAILABILITY OF SYSTEMS THAT PROVIDE SOME DEGREE OF CAPABILITY FOR MEETING THOSE NEEDS. THOSE MISSING SHORTFALLS WILL THEN BE DESIGNED AND DEVELOPED. FINALLY, A COMPLETE, FUNCTIONAL UNIT WILL BE PRODUCED AND TESTED. IF SUCCESSFUL, THIS RESEARCH WOULD PROVIDE AN INEXPENSIVE MEANS FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH IMPAIRED MOBILITY TO COMMUNICATE BETTER, HAVE GREATER CONTROL OVER THEIR ENVIRONMENT, AND ALSO HAVE AN ADDED MEASURE OF SAFETY. ALTHOUGH AIMED AT PROVIDING ASSISTANCE TO THOSE WITH IMPAIRED MOBILITY, THE UTILITY OF SUCH A UNIT, AVAILABLE AT LOW COST, COULD ALSO BEUSED BY NONIMPAIRED INDIVIDUALS DESIRING INCREASED SAFETY AND CONVENIENCE.