Rehabilitation Tool for Bedridden Children
Background
About Project
Social isolation is defined as “a state in which the individual lacks a sense of belonging socially, lacks engagement with others, has a minimal number of social contacts and they are deficient in fulfilling and quality relationships”. This issue is very prevalent in hospitals where children are bedridden, unable to leave bed, due to an injury or illness (i.e paralysis, chronic burns). BEDXplorer is a coping strategy that brings happiness into children hospitals rooms. This tool allows the children to be socially active by just laying in their bed. BEDXplorer is a “virtual joystick” cell phone application used to steer a remotely operated vehicle. The virtual joystick uses the cell phone’s internal gyroscope, such that the user steers the vehicle simply by tilting the phone. The car, which was created on the laser cutter in the Spelman Innovation Lab, is intended to engage and entertain bedridden children by allowing them to “drive” and interact with others using the Bluetooth video camera mounted on the vehicle.
Jazette Johnson 