ADAPTATION OF COMPETITIVE JOBS FOR DISABLED INDIVIDUALS

THE PROPOSED PROGRAM IS AIMED AT IDENTIFICATION AND ADAPTATION OF COMPETITIVE JOBS IN PARTICULAR SERVICE INDUSTRIES FOR PERFORMANCE BY INDIVIDUALS OR TEAMS OF INDIVIDUALS WITH SEVERE DISABILITIES TO PERFORM WITHIN NORMAL WORK SETTINGS. THIS IS ACHIEVED BY DEVELOPMENT OF ANEXPERT SYSTEM TO PRIORITIZE NEEDS AND POTENTIAL USES OF ROBOTICS IN PROVIDING JOB AIDS. THIS INNOVATIVE APPROACH WILL REPLACE THE PRESENT PIECEMEAL EFFORT TO USE ROBOTS AS JOB AIDS WITH ONE IN WHICH DISABILITIES, NEEDS, ROBOTIC CAPABILITIES, TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS, AND COST EFFECTIVENESSARE RELATED TO ONE ANOTHER. THIS WILL PERMIT AN OPTIMUM STRATEGY ON ALLOCATING R&D RESOURCES AND IN BENEFITTING THE GREATEST NUMBER OF INDIVIDUALS WITH HANDICAPS IN THE MOST COST EFFECTIVE MANNER. IN PARTICULAR, THE PROPOSED RESEARCHWILL RELATE TASK MODULES, EACH OF WHICH WILL CATEGORIZE AND/OR QUANTIFY A PARTICULAR DIMENSION OF PLANNING FOR THE USE OF ROBOTS TO AID HANDICAPPED PERSONS IN THE JOB. THE TERM "HANDICAPPED", FOR PURPOSES OF THIS STUDY, EXCLUDES BLIND AND DEAF INDIVIDUALS. IT INCLUDES THE LACK OR LOSS OFFUNCTION OF THE LIMBS OR HANDS OR WHAT IS NORMALLY MEANT BY THE TERM PHYSICALLY HANDICAPPED. TO QUOTE A RECENT COMMENT MADE BY A RESEARCHER IN THIS AREA,"THERE SEEMS TO BE NO ESTABLISHED PROTOCOL OR HISTORICAL PRECEDENT FOR A PROTOTYPE HUMAN-INTERACTIVE MACHINE DEVELOPMENT EVALUATION (INTERACTIVE ROBOT) IN CANADA, JAPAN OR THE U.S.A. AND PROBABLY NOT IN EUROPE". THIS IS VERY SIGNIFICANT AND POINTS TO THE NEED FOR COORDINATED, PROBLEM ORIENTED RESEARCH TO SOLVE CLASSES OF JOB-RELATED DISABILITYPROBLEMS.