Improving Lives of Others

Hi, G.U.S.

Meet G.U.S.—the Get Up Seat. The soon-​​to-​​be-​​prototyped assis­tance device will help elderly users get up from falls and give them sup­port when they start to feel weak. It’s the brain­child of North­eastern stu­dents Laurel McCal­lister and Ellie Schachter in part­ner­ship with Little Brothers—Friends of the Elderly, a national net­work of volunteer-​​based orga­ni­za­tions ded­i­cated to serving those 60 and up.

The device—whose design spec­i­fi­ca­tions include a fold-​​away seat, walker con­nec­tion, and wheel lock—can be pro­to­typed for just $84 and may help decrease the vast number of older adults in the U.S. who die from falling. In 2011, that figure exceeded 22,000.

“We believe our design can be com­pet­i­tive in today’s market, espe­cially after we fine-​​tune the pro­to­type,” McCal­lister said. “We’re trying to make the design as generic as pos­sible so that it can adjust to fit most walkers.”

McCal­lister, E’16, and Schachter, E’17, pre­sented their design pro­posal to more than 20 stu­dents, project men­tors, and inquis­i­tive fac­ulty mem­bers in 13 Snell Library ear­lier this month. They are but two of 10 stu­dents enrolled in “Enabling Engi­neering,” a tech­nical elec­tive aimed at using engi­neering tech­nolo­gies to build pro­to­types for low-​​cost devices that improve the lives of the elderly and indi­vid­uals with phys­ical or cog­ni­tive disabilities.

The engineers-​​in-​​training work with end users and care­givers at local nursing homes and spe­cial edu­ca­tion schools—the Carter School, the National Braille Press, and the South Shore Edu­ca­tion Col­lab­o­ra­tive among them— to assess spe­cific needs, research poten­tial solu­tions, and develop detailed proposals.

“Enabling Engi­neering” is led by Waleed Meleis, an asso­ciate pro­fessor in the Depart­ment of Elec­trical and Com­puter Engi­neering. Meleis, whose exper­tise ranges from mul­ti­a­gent machine learning to scal­able pro­cessing sys­tems, also serves as the fac­ulty adviser for the epony­mous stu­dent group, whose 40 mem­bers work to bring the pro­to­types to fruition.

In the past year, the group has con­vened 30 stu­dents, five project part­ners, and four pro­fes­sional men­tors from two design firms—Fikst and Essen­tial Design—to tackle 11 projects. The young engi­neers have received funding from a range of enti­ties, including IDEA: Northeastern’s student-​​run ven­ture accel­er­ator, the National Col­le­giate Inven­tors and Inno­va­tors Alliance, and the human ser­vices orga­ni­za­tion Lifestream Inc.

“Our stu­dents have enthu­siasm, energy, and ideas,” Meleis has said. “They are incred­ibly caring.”

Using iPads to save lives

Colleen Gal­lagher, E’18, and Tyler Paskowski, E/CIS’17, are prime exam­ples. Ear­lier this month, they pre­sented a design pro­posal for an iPad app aimed at moti­vating chil­dren afflicted by cere­bral palsy to increase their lung capacity. Their project partner is the Carter School, a public school on the border of Boston’s Lower Rox­bury and South End neigh­bor­hoods whose stu­dents present severe dis­abil­i­ties and com­plex health needs.

“Building up lung capacity is essen­tial to living a healthy life,” said Paskowski, noting that those with CP suffer from poor res­pi­ra­tory muscle func­tion, leading to infec­tion, restric­tive lung dis­ease, and even death. “We need to find a way to moti­vate these kids to speak and make noises.”

Their idea is based on the con­cept of cause and effect. Here’s how it would work: The app user makes a vocal noise, prompting visual or audi­tory stim­ulus to mate­ri­alize on the iPad screen. The visual stim­ulus takes the form of either red or yellow cir­cles, whose size will par­allel the decibel level of the vocal noise—the louder the sound, the bigger the circle. The audio stim­ulus, of which there will be three options, depends on what the kids at the Carter School respond to, whether it’s the dis­tinc­tive growl of a tiger or a clip from their favorite film. “Either type of stim­ulus will pro­vide moti­va­tion that a child needs to speak,” Paskowski said.

If the project moves for­ward, Paskowski and Gal­lagher will enlist a few tal­ented pro­gram­mers in the Enabling Engi­neering stu­dent group to build the app, and then the fin­ished product will be pub­lished on iTunes.