Controller to help disabled

THIS is the incredible new technology which has been used to create video game controllers for people with disabilities.

Students at CU Coventry in their third year were tasked with designing a controller to help users with a specific disability such as an amputee or someone with motor neurone disease.

Several different designs of controllers were used at the event to play several retro games including versions of Pacman, Pong and Snake.

As part of a third-year project, students were tasked to design a controller to help users with a specific disability such as an amputee or someone with motor neurone disease. One pair of students, Dan Castle and Edi Gutmanis, designed a ‘glove’ controller aimed at people undergoing rehabilitation after having a prosthetic hand fitted.

They showed what their glove - which senses movement and acceleration - was capable of by using it to control the avatar in Pacman.

Dan said: “The glove is designed to help people with a newly-attached prosthetic hand get used to its movement.

“Through playing video games and getting better and better scores, users will be able to objectively see how much better they are at using their new hand. Playing video games also helps patients’ mental health in the short and long-term - someone who may have lost a hand or arm in an accident may have suffered severe psychological trauma.

“Enabling these patients to enjoy video gaming through having a specialised controller has multiple benefits.”

And a trio of students, Lucimara Manuel, Belgique Mendy and Khadijah Nasser, invented a controller which can sense tilting movements designed for people who have lost movement in their legs or lower body. Belgique said: “Our controller can be attached to the hand, torso or even the head so it can be used for people with a range of mobility issues. It can sense movement in three dimensions, so it’s fully compatible with a variety of games.

“It was challenging to make, but we’re really pleased with the results. We loved seeing everyone try out our controller and having fun by trying to get a high score.”