Tag: assistive technology
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Braille Music Notation: 200 Years of Accessible Sound
Two centuries of Braille, two worlds of sound When Louis Braille unveiled his tactile system in the early 1820s, he created more than a language for reading; he opened a doorway to the world of music for people who are blind. Braille music notation adapts the dots of literary Braille into a grid that encodes…
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3D Printed Hands Co-Created in Singapore to Fill Assistive-Tech Gaps
Turning a Challenge into Innovation: 3D Printed Hands in Singapore In Singapore, a local non-profit group is reshaping how people with limb loss regain independence. Plug Assistive-Tech Gaps (P.A.T.G.) works at the intersection of community care and cutting-edge manufacturing, developing 3D printed hands and specialized tools that can be customized to each user’s needs. The…
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3D Printed Hands and Tools: Co-Creating Assistive Tech to Close Singapore’s Gaps
Closing the gap in assistive technology In Singapore, a growing non-profit group is turning the tide for people who face limb loss by co-creating affordable, customizable assistive devices. Through a collaborative model that blends user insight with open-source design, the organization develops 3D-printed hands and practical tools that empower daily living. The effort is rooted…
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Voice Restoration After Cancer: AI Helps Reclaim Speech
When cancer steals more than life it steals a voice For some people, a cancer diagnosis means more than medical battles; it can mean losing something as intimate as one’s own voice. When doctors told Sonya Sotinsky that removing her tongue and voice box was necessary to save her life, she faced a future where…
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Voice Restored: AI, Kids’ Books & Courage Against Cancer
Her life as spoken by courage When cancer invaded Sonya Sotinsky’s mouth, doctors faced a harrowing choice: remove her tongue and voice box to save her life. The prognosis was grim, but Sonya refused to surrender her voice to the disease. What followed was a remarkable blend of resilience, technology, and a peculiar kind of…
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Her Voice Recovered: How AI, Curiosity, and a Love of Books Helped a Cancer Survivor Speak Again
When cancer stole her voice, she found a way back Sonya Sotinsky’s life took a strange and frightening turn when doctors discovered that an aggressive cancer had invaded her mouth. The diagnosis was swift and merciless: to save her life, her tongue and voice box would need to be removed. In the span of a…
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Cancer Stole Her Voice. She Reclaimed It With AI, Curses, and Kids’ Books
When a Voice Is Torn Away, Innovation Steps In Doctors told her the terrible news: to save her life, she would need to lose her tongue and voice box. In the corridors of fear that followed, one woman refused to accept silence. She turned to a blend of technology, humor, and childhood memories to find…
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Special Education Expert to Help Egypt Build Inclusive Education for Students with Disabilities
A Global Spotlight on Inclusive Education Dr. Lucinda “Cindi” Spaulding, director of the University of Lynchburg’s special education programs, is set to travel to Cairo, Egypt, later this month to support the country’s push toward an inclusive education system. The mission, coordinated with Egypt’s National Center for Educational Research and Development (NCERD), aims to strengthen…
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New Method Lets AI Locate Personalised Objects Across Scenes
New Training Approach Improves Personalised Object Localization in AI A collaboration between MIT and the MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab has yielded a practical breakthrough in generative vision-language models (VLMs). The researchers developed a training regime that enables these models to locate personalised objects across different scenes—a capability that has traditionally been challenging. The work aims…
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Accessible Signaled Crosswalks in Regina with PedApp
What is PedApp and why it matters Regina is expanding its approach to pedestrian safety and accessibility with the PedApp, a free mobile tool managed by Polara Enterprises. This innovative application enables select signaled crosswalks to interact with residents via smartphones, making it easier for everyone to navigate busy streets. The goal is simple: provide…