Rowing Motion Counting Device
By Mehtaji, Deep; Zilber, David; Goldberg, Richard ; NSF 2008 Engineering Senior Design Projects to Aid Persons With Disabilities, pages 256-257Publication Date: 2011
Description of a counting game designed for a 14-year-old boy with severe disabilities who uses a wheelchair. The Rowing Motion Counter was requested by his speech therapist to help him understand the concepts of numbers and counting while encouraging him to exercise while seated in his chair. The device employs rowing motion to convey the concept of quantity by counting the number of pull/push repetitions. It provides audible feedback of the current count. The device is mounted on a steel plate that slides easily into a slot under the wheelchair seat cushion. It features a lever arm adapted from a scooter handlebar. The arm is connected to a residential door closer, which has an adjustable resistance, enabling the therapist to make it easier or harder for the client to pull the lever. A potentiometer is connected at the axis of rotation to read the lever angle. A microcontroller controls the system operation. It samples the voltage of the potentiometer, which allows the device to determine when a full rowing motion is made by the client. Audio feedback is implemented with an MP3 player. There are two switch selectable operating modes: practice and game mode. In the latter, a target is randomly generated which the client must reach through successive strokes of the handlebar. Then the target is reached, the device congratulates the client and assigns a new random value. The Rowing Motion Counter was designed by engineering students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill at a cost of about 250 dollars.
Published by: Creative Learning Press, Inc. (Website:http://www.creativelearningpress.com)
Link to text: http://nsf-pad.bme.uconn.edu/2008/Chapter%2013,%20University%20of%20North%20Carolina.pdf
ISBN: 1-931280-12-6
