Vocal Switch
The Need
At the William E. Carter School of Boston, students with cerebral palsy (CP) lack both the fine motor skills needed to activate mechanical switches and the ability to communicate verbally. There is a need for an ergonomic, wearable, vocal vibration-activated switch to extend the ability to communicate and learn with classroom devices to students managing CP. Currently, many devices are only accessible via mechanical means. A vocally-activated switch will provide more students access to the communication, education, and leisure afforded by existing classroom devices.
The Project
The team is developing a switch activated and controlled by the vocal cord vibrations of the user. The device will use a MEMS accelerometer to measure vocal cord vibrations. These signals will then be digitally filtered through a microcontroller using the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT), providing the ability to distinguish intentional vibrations from unintentional noises to promote accurate switch activation. The end product will be designed to act in place of existing mechanical switches and interface with educational devices currently used in the classroom setting.
Current Status
The main activities have been learning about how the accelerometer works, figuring out how to gather data in MATLAB, and designing a holder to house the electronics in a wearable, comfortable, ergonomic fashion.