Adaptive Controllers by Inclusive Design
The purpose of this project is to develop a controller which can act as a keyboard and a mouse when utilized with a computer. This controller is designed to help amputees or those incapable of controlling individual fingers be able to interact with a computer efficiently. This controller falls under the category of assistive technology, hoping to increase participation among the desired user group. The team has designed and prototyped an assistive controller that utilizes joysticks and large buttons to help those who lack fingers and appendages interact with a computer, when they would otherwise be unable to interact with a standard keyboard and handheld mouse. This controller provides keyboard and mouse functionality. This controller has been designed to be intuitive for the expected disabled user group, and can be operated accurately and precisely. The device itself has been implemented to be integrable with the target user’s daily activities, meaning it is safe and is protected to allow only limited dust and particle ingress. The controller is powered and connected to the computer via a USB cable. The risks and impacts in several fields have been considered for this project in the final design and implementation of the system. The team has designed the system by creating a block diagram and defining the interface connections between each block. The push buttons and joysticks are both blocks which allow for the user to interact with the system, while an input modification block is included so that these electronics can be properly utilized by the disabled user. All the inputs would then be processed by the Arduino, which is mounted to a PCB and connected to the rest of the system. The Arduino and any other electrical circuits would be contained within a smaller, safe enclosure within the system itself. Once the Arduino has interpreted the proper inputs, it would then tell the computer how to manipulate the cursor or what to type into a word processor based on the given inputs. This would be done with the keyboard serial and mouse serial blocks. The team has since developed all blocks and integrated them together into a complete system. The system was shown to meet all of the project’s requirements and thus assert itself as a functional prototype. The team has since begun to close out the project, and have placed all information for future teams within the project closing section. The team has made several recommendations to improve future projects. As such, the project would be easily continued by future teams. These recommendations include implementing a testbench into the design, utilizing an I2C multiplexer for the joysticks, redesigning the enclosure for better fasteners, and include a demonstration for accuracy. The team also made global impact recommendations, which include finding a target user and lowering cost, as well as teamwork recommendations, which involve more synchronous meetings and task delegation.
Awards
Artifacts
Name | Description | |
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Project Poster | Group project poster | Link |
Project Documentation | Project Documentation | Link |
BOM | Bill of Materials | Link |
Drop Test | Dropping the system then seeing if it still works | Link |
Menu Display Testing | Testing the menu for functionality | Link |
Pasting Demo | Testing right-clicking and then pasting to see if it works. | Link |
Testing Seal | Dropping sand on the system to see if the system still works afterwards | Link |
Input Delay Testing | Testing input delay, how long it takes to output | Link |
Sentivity Test | Testing mousing sensitivities, seeing different mouse speeds | Link |
Keyboard Test | Testing out keyboard functionality | Link |
Mouse Test | Testing out mouse functionality | Link |
Project Summary Video | Video presenting the team's objectives, approach, challenges, and takeaways for this capstone project. | Link |
Executive Summary | Executive Summary and project timeline for this capstone project. | Download |
Project Github | Github repository including project overview, user guide, developer guide, and project artifacts including schematics, PCB files, 3D-printed .stl files, and system code. | Link |
Project Closeout | Project Closeout as it appears in the Project Document, including future recommendations for technical, global impact, and teamwork under the project scope. Also includes relevant artifacts to the project, including schematics, PCB layout, mechanical drawings, code, and presentation materials. | Download |