Learning challenges shape a mechanical engineer’s path
Recent alumnus James Hermus wants to help others overcome barriers to accessibility and full participation.
New collaboration aims to strengthen orthotic and prosthetic care in Sierra Leone
MIT’s K. Lisa Yang Center for Bionics and Sierra Leone’s Ministry of Health and Sanitation aim to develop an integrative approach to strengthening and expanding the orthotic and prosthetic sector within the African nation.
2.009 makes its “Move!” onstage
Students pitched prototypes for a sea turtle incubator, a wheelchair speed control, a self-cleaning firehose system, and more.
MIT engineers design a soft, implantable ventilator
The new design works with the diaphragm to improve breathing.
Magnetic sensors track muscle length
Using a new technology, researchers hope to create better control systems for prosthetic limbs.
Making data visualization more accessible for blind and low-vision individuals
Researchers have created prototypes that enable screen-reader users to quickly and easily navigate through multiple levels of information in an online chart.
Affordable prosthetics and orthotics to rival the world’s best devices
Rise Bionics, founded by D-Lab Scale Ups fellow Arun Cherian, creates customized assistive devices for patients in India.
System helps severely motor-impaired individuals type more quickly and accurately
For individuals who communicate using a single switch, a new interface learns how they make selections, and then self-adjusts accordingly.
With “Hello!” as its theme, 2.009 returns to the stage
New products presented by students at the annual event included a curb-climbing wheelchair attachment and seizure-preventing glasses.
Dragging your feet? Lack of sleep affects your walk, new study finds
Periodically catching up on sleep can improve gait control for the chronically sleep-deprived.
Making data visualizations more accessible
Researchers find blind and sighted readers have sharply different takes on what content is most useful to include in a chart caption.
New bionics center established at MIT with $24 million gift
Interdisciplinary research center funded by philanthropist Lisa Yang aims to mitigate disability through technologies that marry human physiology with electromechanics.
Engineers create 3D-printed objects that sense how a user is interacting with them
Advance incorporates sensing directly into an object’s material, with applications for assistive technology and “intelligent” furniture.
Inflatable robotic hand gives amputees real-time tactile control
Prosthetic enables a wide range of daily activities, such as zipping a suitcase, shaking hands, and petting a cat.
A robot that can help you untangle your hair
Robotic arm equipped with a hairbrush helps with brushing tasks and could be an asset in assistive-care settings.