Introduction

By Bob Piech

This is the premier edition of a newsletter dedicated to consumer participation in rehabilitation robotics research. Since 1993, the University of Delaware's Center for Applied Science and Engineering (ASEL), located at the Alfred I. duPont Institute, has had a project which needs input from consumers of disability-related products. The project, known as the Consumer Innovation Laboratory, is funded by the U.S. Department of Education's National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research as part of the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Rehabilitation Robotics.

Due to the number of interested consumers who live a good distance from A.I. duPont Institute and are unable to make it to our general assembly meetings or our design teams, this newsletter was conceived. The Innovator will keep you, the consumer, informed as to the progress of the Lab. Each edition will feature columns from the design teams and other disability- related research projects that are being done here at ASEL. In addition, input from you the reader will be invited relative to problems or questions we have in making our work worthwhile for you.

One final note: as of October 1994, we have changed our meeting schedule for general assembly meetings to once every four months. The next meeting is March 22 (call ahead to confirm). Mid-way between these meetings we will have a collective gathering of all the design teams to discuss progress and problems and exchange ideas. The design team meetings are not for beginners, but anyone interested is welcome. All meetings are held in our Labs at the A.I. duPont Institute.

Also in this issue:

• Design teams
  • Auto-Vac design team
  • Egg Breaker design team
  • Door Opener design team
• Robotics feature research - Orthosis Project