Beginnings

Styra: Swedish—to control, steer, guide, or direct

Background:  

I have a cousin named Andrew who was born with quadriplegic cerebral palsy. He is confined to a wheelchair and has extremely limited range of motion in his upper body. He is able to move one arm slowly and can touch keys on a keyboard with one finger; however, the buttons on a traditional keyboard are too close together and he may fall over if he has to reach across the keyboard to press buttons on the side opposite to his working arm. It is not even possible for him to press the shift key and a letter at the same time to make a capital letter. He is unable to use a mouse or touchpad and traditional trackballs are too small for him to manipulate. His world is limited to what he can experience from his chair or where his parents can carry him.

I am not a believer that technology is the cure for all the problems in the world. I know that technology is not a replacement for human contact and social interaction. That said, I believe that technology can open a world to Andrew, and people in similar circumstances, that many of us take for granted: a world of texting, e-mail, Twitter and—heaven forbid— Facebook. I started the groundwork for this project nearly a year ago, but it wasn’t until the last few weeks that I was able to put together a team with the skills necessary to make this project successful.

Project Summary:   

The Styra Project is an open framework for developing customizable assistive technology devices to help disabled individuals interact with computer systems. Summer 2015 we will design and prototype three keyboard / mouse type input devices that can be customized for use by individuals who struggle with traditional keyboard designs. There are commercially available solutions, however these are expensive and can run into the $1000 to $10,000 range. Our goal is that someone with access to a 3D printer and some electronics background will be able to build one of our designs for less than $200. All the source code, schematics and 3D printer designs will be made publicly available on GitHub under an open license agreement.

The Team:

• Luke Hindman (Balihoo):  I have an MS degree in Computer Science with a background in electronics and embedded software development. During my time at Balihoo I have planned and coordinated dozens of successful projects while working on the systems team.
• James Hatmaker (Balihoo):  James has a BS degree in Computer Science and an extensive background in robotics, electronics, software development and mechanical design. James’ ability to work with 3D designs and see potential problems will be invaluable for this project.
• Phillip Thomas (HP):  Phillip has a BS in Computer Information Systems and a background in design and 3D printing. He currently volunteers at the Boise Public Library each Friday teaching courses in 3D printing.
• Andrew Jepson:  Andrew has graciously accepted the role of test engineer. He has 18 years experience living with cerebral palsy and is the most qualified of any of us to understand the needs and limitations of someone with that condition.

This team has the passion and skills to see the successful completion of the core goals for this project, but there will be opportunities for others to contribute along the way.