Project Logs

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• Jim and Isabelle's Story

  Chad • 7 days ago • 0 comments

  Have you seen Jim and Isabelle’s story? Filmed during our Access Makeathon, it’s a great example of how much of a difference the maker movement can make for people with disabilities — it’s why Makers Making Change is so important. Have a look here:

  Thank you to Jim and Isabelle for participating in this video and taking such an interest in the Makers Making Change initiative. We’ve received invaluable feedback from Jim on the LipSync.

  Stay tuned, we’ll have another Access Makeathon success story rolling out in the next few weeks.

• RESNA Award and Thanks

  Chad • 07/06/2017 at 17:15 • 0 comments

  We had a great time at the 2017 RESNA (Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America) Annual Conference. Our Manager of Research and Development, Harry Lew, presented his paper on the Makers Making Change initiative. To our honour, we ended up taking home the Most Disruptive Technology award.

  Our engineer, Charles, standing with Harry (left to right) at our booth at RESNA.

  It’s been just over a year since we began building our LipSync team, for the major project which led into our new Makers Making Change initiative. We’ve made a lot of progress in such a short amount of time, and have been blown away with the amount of interest in our work. With over 120 LipSyncs built and ready to ship out, a new website in development, and work being done on investigating and supporting other open-source assistive technology solutions, this is just the beginning.

  All of this work comes from the staff at the Neil Squire Society, who use technology, knowledge and passion to empower Canadians with disabilities. Our staff, interns and volunteers have put a tremendous amount of time and energy into the Makers Making Change initiative, yet our success wouldn’t have been possible without the help of some key supporting organizations, and we’d like to thank them now.

  Google.org’s grant allowed us to take the LipSync from a prototype on a shelf to actually having an open-source, low cost “mouse in your mouth” solution. It is already being made and used in communities across North America, with many of you asking to get involved.

  The Vancouver Foundation was the first to fund Maker Making Change in British Columbia, which allowed us to really create the branding, host our first Access Makeathon, and begin exploring other open source assistive technologies.

  Recently, the Government of Canada announced funding over the next two years, which will really allow us to bring this initiative across Canada, connecting makers to people with disabilities who need assistive technologies. We are all so incredibly excited about this opportunity to scale this project to Neil Squire Society offices across Canada through this support.

  Finally, and most importantly, we’d like to thank you. We’ve spent a lot of time doing outreach over the last few months, and we’ve been delighted by the interest across Canada and the United States — overwhelmed, really. Our vision of open source assistive technology hardware solutions is bold, and we are grateful for your interest in helping us grow this network.

• The CAOT Conference in Charlottetown

  Chad • 06/29/2017 at 18:40 • 0 comments

  Wow! June was one busy month. We capped off a month of Buildathons, Maker Faires, and outreach with a trip to Charlottetown, PEI (and the surrounding area) for the 2017 Canadian Association of Occupation Therapists (CAOT) Conference, similar to the American Occupational Therapist Association conference we attended in Philadelphia.

  Chad Leaman, Director of Development, standing in front of Confederation Bridge in Prince Edward Island.

  In Philadelphia, we connected with occupational therapists across the United States and Canada and we created connections and roots in the city and surrounding areas with local MakerSpaces, rehabilitation clinics, and interested people. It’s allowed us to host Buildathons and really be visible in Philadelphia — it paved the way for a lot of progress.

  At the CAOT conference in PEI, we aimed to replicate the outreach we achieved in Philadelphia. Highlights included meeting with and giving LipSyncs to the University of Prince Edward Islandand their disability services office, and Spinal Cord Injury Prince Edward Island. Rather coincidentally, Saturday was the PEI Walk for ALS, where we connected with a Maritimes service provider, Harding Medical, and gave them a LipSync.

  We also dropped off an unassembled LipSync kit with the Summerside MakerSpace which they are currently building. The MakerSpaces we met were very enthusiastic and willing to help.

  Above: Our Industrial Designer, Kristina, inspecting our 3D printer at the conference.

  Below: Chad Leaman with Dr. William Miller, a Professor in the Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy and an associate dean at UBC.

  While we have talked mostly about our activities outside the conference, the conference itself was a huge success. Just as we had experienced in Philadelphia, occupational therapists were tremendously interested in the LipSync and Makers Making Change. We made good contact with an occupational therapist or school in literally every province of Canada — and sometimes more, we met many from Nova Scotia and Alberta for instance. It’s a great launching point.

  These conferences provide a very efficient way to grow our networks and grow the initiative, allowing us to meet people from all over the country, rather than having to go to each community individually to make connections. Not that we don’t enjoy travelling to each different community — we’ll be doing that in our follow-up with many of our new connections. (We are looking forward, however, to next year’s CAOT conference being in Vancouver — a huge opportunity).

  A group photo of our Bellingham build’s participants. (For more pictures, check out The Foundry MakerSpace on Facebook).

  Rounding out our week, we were also in Bellingham, Washington, co-ordinating another successful build. Thanks to The Foundry MakerSpace, our gracious hosts, we now have another 17 LipSyncs built.

  After the final LipSync build of the month, it’s nice to look back — we built nearly 90 LipSyncs in June alone. We’re getting close to the 150 we’ve aimed to build during our first phase. Now, it’s time to really start getting them out to people on a large scale. For us, July will be a lot calmer, at least in terms of events, so over the next few weeks we’re going to be doing some quality assurance and work on getting the LipSyncs out there.

  Our Director of Research and Development, Harry Lew, is presenting at the RESNA (Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America) 2017 Annual Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana this week. Lew will be comparing different open source models, and how the Makers Making Change model incorporates the strengths and works to overcome the weaknesses of previous models.

• Stateside Buildathons

  Chad • 06/22/2017 at 18:31 • 0 comments

  We hadn’t done a Buildathon in the United States yet. So why not do two of them on the same day in opposite ends of the country? That’s what we did Sunday, as part of the Nation of Makers’ Week of Making, with Buildathons in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Seattle, Washington.

  It was fantastic.

  Above: Seeing that both Buildathons fell on Father’s Day, it was only fitting that we had a father-daughter team. Scott, our friend from Comcast who built one on his own initiative, pictured with his daughter.

  Below: We’ve typically done red LipSyncs, but while we’re trying new things, why not switch it up with the colours.

  In Philadelphia, where we partnered with NextFab (who hosted us at their Philadelphia location), we got to say hi (and build LipSyncs) with a few old friends. Scott from Comcast brought along his daughter, and they built a LipSync.

  As well, a few of the people who we had dropped off LipSyncs with last time actually built one themselves. Charles, from Inglis House, and Russ, from the Institute of Disabilities at Temple University, both got to build a LipSync and take them home. It was great not only to give them a LipSync, but show them how they can make it themselves.

  “[Chad Leaman], Ivan and the rest of the team did a phenomenal job putting together the Buildathon this past weekend,” Russ, who received four LipSyncs for the Pennsylvania's Initiative on Assistive Technology, wrote us in an email. “The LipSyncs produced will, no doubt, be put to good use in our Statewide AT lending library.”

  Above: Russ shaking hands with Chad Leaman, Director of Development, holding his certificate of completion. (Thanks to Marcella Barker of NextFab, who took this and the following photos of the Philadelphia Buildathon).

  Below: Charles soldering together his circuit board.

  One last photo of our group in Philadelphia.

  In Seattle, at the SoDo MakerSpace, we also had a great time. In all, we ended the weekend with 21 LipSyncs built.

  Above: The makers at the SoDo MakerSpace hard at work.

  Below: The result.

  Buildathons weren’t the only thing we were doing in the States. Our Executive Director, Gary Birch, was in Washington DC, as a panelist at the M-Enabling Summit. In addition to talking to a large audience of influential persons and industry leaders about the LipSync and Makers Making Change, Birch also met some important contacts – he paid a visit to MedStar National Rehabilitation Hospital, and met with John Anschutz, the manager of the Assistive Technology Center at the Shepherd Center, one of the best rehabilitation hospitals in the world. He gave them both LipSyncs.

  Gary Birch demonstrating the LipSync to John Anschutz, the manager of the Assistive Technology Center at the Shepherd Center.

  Our travels are not over. We’re at the 2017 Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists conference right now. With the success of the American one in Philadelphia — the connections we made were why we were there on Sunday — we hope to find the same in Charlottetown, PEI. We’ll meet with occupational therapists from all over Canada, as well as some local makerspaces, and give out a few LipSyncs.

• Vancouver Mini Maker Faire

  Chad • 06/15/2017 at 17:57 • 0 comments

  It’s good to be home — for now. Before heading out for a number of events on the road for the last few weeks of June, it was good to be at the Vancouver Mini Maker Faire right near home, and in our local community.

  Above: Engineer Charles and Director of Development, Chad Leaman, at our booth. (For more fun pictures of the Maker Faire, check out their photo album on Facebook).

  Below: Engineers Rashmi, Amanda, and Ivan talk to an interested spectator.

  It was great to talk to the community, getting the chance to meet with a whole of new faces.

  But it also gave us time to reconnect with some “old” friends. We got a chance to catch up with a lot of the people who helped make the Access Makeathon so successful. Many of the individual makers, and organizing partners including SFU SIAT, Vancouver Hack Space, RP Electronics were there at the PNE Forum with us Saturday and Sunday.

  In addition to the previously announced Philadelphia LipSync Buildathon this Sunday, we’ve added a couple of US Buildathons in the next few weeks as part of the Nation of Makers’ Week of Making. Both are in Washington State. The first is in Seattle this Sunday (the same day as the Philadelphia one), while we have one in Bellingham on the following Saturday (the 24^th).

  If you happen to be in the area for any of the three Buildathons mentioned — Philadelphia, Seattle, and Bellingham — they are still looking for both people to make LipSyncs, and people who need LipSyncs. The events are open to the public, so you can even just come and watch. Click the previous links on the city names for more information and to register.

• TELUS Buildathon

  Chad • 06/08/2017 at 17:31 • 0 comments

  On June 2nd and 3rd, we hosted the TELUS LipSync Buildathon. While leaving TELUS Garden with 30 newly built LipSyncs was enough reason for elation — not to mention getting to meet an enthusiastic, hard-working group of makers at TELUS — it was an announcement by the Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities, Carla Qualtrough, that had us really excited for the future.

  Pictured left-to-right: TELUS International Senior Vice-President and Chief Corporate Officer, Marilyn Tyfting; Neil Squire Society Executive Director, Gary Birch; and Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities, Carla Qualtrough.
  

  On Friday morning, Minister Qualtrough announced that the Neil Squire Society would receive approximately $750,000 for its Makers Making Change initiative “for the development of a network of groups and people with technical skills to support the identification, development, testing, dissemination and deployment of open source assistive technologies.”

  The funding was part of $4.5 million awarded over two years to nine non-profit organizations across Canada working to increase the participation and integration of persons with disabilities.

  Minister Qualtrough, who was in attendance at the Buildathon, sees the potential that the maker movement could have for people with disabilities, and was grateful for the makers in attendance.

  “I believe this Buildathon is a great way to accelerate innovation, because changemakers — hackers, innovators, inventors, creators — have a chance to work together to build new technologies aimed at assisting people with disabilities,” she said. “It’s particularly encouraging to see you all so engaged and enthusiastic to find innovative solutions to break down barriers and promote a more inclusive and accessible Canada.”

  She noted, however, even with funding, the most important part to an initiative like Makers Making Change are the people supporting it.

  “Money is not always the solution. We need people — people like you,” Minister Qualtrough told the audience before the start of the Buildathon.

  “We are delighted to receive the SDPP-D [Social Development Partnerships Program – Disability Component] funding announced today by Minister Qualtrough from the Government of Canada,” said Neil Squire Society Executive Director, Gary Birch. “This funding is instrumental in enabling the Neil Squire Society to develop, and pilot across Canada, an innovative open source model to produce and deliver hardware-based assistive technologies to Canadians with disabilities. Thank you so much for this vital support.”

  Above: Minister Qualtrough receiving a key to the Buildathon from Executive Director, Gary Birch.
  Below: Minister Qualtrough learning how to solder under the guidance of our engineer, Ivan.

  After the announcement, two full days of making with two teams of 15 TELUS employees commenced. The makers were even faster than we thought, going through the steps quite efficiently.

  Mike, an engineer at TELUS, hadn’t heard of the maker movement before taking part in Friday’s session, and was excited by the potential.

  “If you can enable someone with technology built in four hours, that’s a huge impact,” he explained.

  An electrical engineer through his schooling, Mike had experience soldering. He found the instructions easy to follow.

  “The instructions were detailed enough that it was not too difficult — you didn’t really necessarily need to know what you were doing, if you could follow through the photos. I thought that was good.”

  Mike said that he would be interested in participating in another Buildathon.

  “I really like this hobbyist sort of stuff, so that certainly appealed to me,” he said. “It was really well-organized, well laid-out, [I] enjoyed it. [. . .] It’s fun to sit down and do something a little different.”

  Above: Mike holding his finished LipSync....

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• Coming up in June

  Chad • 06/01/2017 at 17:30 • 0 comments

  After closing out May with a series of Maker Faires — the Bay Area Maker Faire and the Sunshine Coast Mini Maker Faire — we’re headed for a busy June full of events and Buildathons. It’s time for outreach and making.

  One of our engineers showing off assistive technology at the Sunshine Coast Mini Maker Faire.

  We will kick off the month by hosting a LipSync Buildathon on Friday and Saturday at the Innovation Centre at Telus Garden in Vancouver, BC. We will be on hand to support 15 Telus (new window) volunteers each day as they build LipSyncs.

  Then, after the success of the first one, we’ve decided to host another Burnaby School District LipSync Buildathon. It will take place on Wednesday, June 7^th at Burnaby South Secondary School. We're aiming to have 50 students build 25 LipSyncs.

  We will be taking part in the Vancouver Mini Maker Faire on June 10^th and 11^th.

  Executive Director, Gary Birch, will be a panelist at the M-Enabling Summit, a global conference on promoting “accessible technologies and environments for senior citizens and persons with disabilities,” held in Washington, D.C. on June 14^th and 15^th. Birch will be talking about the Makers Making Change initiative and the LipSync in front of an audience of over 500 influential persons and industry leaders.

  The Makers Making Change team will then travel to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where we have partnered with NextFab to host the Philadelphia LipSync Buildathon on June 18^th.

  Back in the beginning of April we went to the American Occupational Therapists Association Annual Conference. While from June 20^th – 24^th we’ll be in Charlottetown, PEI to attend the 2017 Canadian Association of Occupation Therapists (CAOT) Conference. This is important as occupational therapists are one of our biggest audiences in terms of outreach, as they recommend and apply assistive technology solutions to their clients. The American conference was tremendously successful in terms of interest and connections made, and we expect the CAOT conference to be no different.

  Our Director of Research and Development, Harry Lew, will be presenting at the RESNA (Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America) 2017 Annual Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana from June 26^th – 30^th. Lew will be comparing different open source models, and how the Makers Making Change model incorporates the strengths and works to overcome the weaknesses of previous models.

  It’s shaping up to be a busy month, but we’re looking forward to it.

• Our Time at the Bay Area Maker Faire

  Chad • 05/25/2017 at 18:57 • 0 comments

  Over the weekend, we had a great time in San Francisco at the Bay Area Maker Faire.

  Above: Director of Development, Chad Leaman, speaking near our booth.

  Below: Manager of Research & Development, Harry Lew, assisting interested makers.

  It’s always a fascinating experience at a Maker Faire, and this was the largest gathering of makers. There’s a little bit of something there for everyone. It’s kind of like a hybrid science fair/art exhibit, but it’s just on another level.

  Our purpose there was to get makers involved in the LipSync project and the Makers Making Change initiative. What an event like the Maker Faire really allows us to do is engage with makers and hobbyists who have the skills — say, 3D printing — but aren’t already in our demographic.

  We had over 300 people sign up, and had made contact with local maker spaces and institutions who were interested in hosting events in the future.

  It was also interesting in the sense that we got to see a lot of inspiring projects. The six booths around us were all technology and disability-related, working on similar goals. One such group was a group of students from UC Berkeley who hosted a TOM (Tikkun Olam Makers) event, where makers pair with people with disabilities to create solutions. (Sound familiar?).

  Above: Jennifer and Chris, sister and brother. Chris trying out his new LipSync. (story below).

  Below: A nurse at Santa Clara Valley Medical Centre trying out their new LipSync.

  As usual on these trips, we got to do some work outside of the Maker Faire. We got to see the Google head office. We also were able to deliver a few LipSyncs to local hospitals and people.

  One of our deliveries was to man named Chris (pictured above), in San Jose. His sister, Jennifer, actually lives around here, and came to the BCTECH Summit back in January to check out the LipSync for her brother, and facetimed him the device. Now, I was able to deliver it to him, and she flew down for the event.

  We have a whole bunch of exciting events coming up. First, we have the Makers Making Change and Telus Day of Giving LipSync Buildathon which will take place on Friday, June 2nd and Saturday the 3rd at the Innovation Centre at Telus Garden in Vancouver, British Columbia. This event coincides with National AccessAbility Week and is part of the Telus Day of Giving.

  Speaking of Maker Faires, we’ll be at two local ones. We’ll be at the Sunshine Coast Mini Maker Faire on Sunday, and at the Vancouver Mini Maker Faire on June 10^th and 11^th.

• Meet the Maker — Ivan

  Chad • 05/18/2017 at 18:50 • 0 comments

  Ivan, one of our engineers, hard at work.

  When Ivan, a UBC Engineering student, was looking for a job last May, the most important thing for him was making a positive impact, in some way.

  “It’s above the salary, easily,” Ivan explains.

  That’s when he came across the Neil Squire Society’s job posting for mechanical engineering interns to work on the LipSync.

  The purpose of the project appealed to him, with the technological landscape largely shifting to smartphones and similar devices, which are difficult if not impossible to use by people who don’t have the use of their hands.

  “It seems like [for] a lot of that technology, [accessibility] is an afterthought for a lot of companies and infrastructure,” Ivan notes. “I don’t want disabled people to be left in the dust, so to speak.

  “I believe in trying to affect positive change and I thought the LipSync project would be an excellent opportunity to do so.”

  When he got the job, he soon found a workplace that he truly enjoyed coming to everyday. Having been diagnosed with clinical depression and anxiety, a flexible schedule really helps him.

  “Everyone from management to accounting to the occupational therapists to the information technologies people, they are all very pleasant and easy to work with. I would never work in a place where the people are cold, unappreciative, and demeaning — the Neil Squire Society is the complete opposite and I love it.”

  Ivan helping students build LipSyncs at the Burnaby South Secondary Buildathon.

  Initially hired for the Summer of 2016, Ivan had found a good fit with the Society and stayed on. He became one of the initial members of the Makers Making Change team, which continues their work and outreach on the LipSync, and developing other open source assistive technologies.

  During his time on the team, he has been able to learn and develop a wide range of skills. While he studied mechanical engineering, he has found himself working a lot more on the electronics and software side of things — skillsets more typical of electrical engineering and computer science.

  “It’s not what I studied, per se,” he explains. “[But] I really enjoy [it].”

  He now sees that area as his specialty.

  Having graduated from UBC with a Bachelor of Applied Science this month, and with status as an Engineer-In-Training, Ivan continues to work hard as the team works toward their goal of having 150 LipSyncs ready before moving on to the next phase of the project.

• It's about more than just tapping the screen: Features of the LipSync

  Chad • 05/17/2017 at 16:24 • 0 comments

  We’ve talked a lot about the LipSync being a sip and puff system, so for example, you puff on the tube and it taps the screen. But you do a lot more with your phone than just tap the screen — sometimes you swipe the screen left and right, sometimes you’re scrolling up and down, sometimes you just need to hit the back button.

  With the LipSync, we’ve built in a few different functions to mimic those hand gestures with a sip and puff device.

  Omar trying the latest iteration of the LipSync.

  For example, on your mobile device, if you need to tap and drag (say you need to input a pattern into the security lock screen, or simply scroll a small distance down a page), you do a medium-length puff while moving the mouthpiece cursor. If you need to do a quick scroll (instead of having to move the cursor up and down constantly to go down, you can just use this feature to skip down 2/3rds of the screen), you can do a medium-length sip, for about three seconds.

  Hitting the back button is as easy as a quick sip. If you begin to experience cursor drift, you can resolve the issue by doing a long puff (about five seconds) to do a home position reset.

  If you were to use a LipSync on a desktop computer, many of the functions are quite similar, but instead accommodate a more mouse-based platform (as opposed to a smartphone that’s designed to be navigated with your fingers). A medium-length puff will click and drag, while a short sip will operate as a right click.

  And keep in mind that these features will be refined in further user testing. As with everything we’ve done, some of these features will be as easy to use and intuitive as we intended when we designed them, others may need to be altered.

  It has to be accessible in the manner that there’s not a steep learning curve — that might turn off first-time users. It’s got to feel natural after a little bit of use, and that’s what we’re refining.

  PS To read more on the functions of a LipSync and how to get it started, read our LipSync Start-Up Guide. Much of the info we’ve talked about here is on page 8.

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