The Capstone Design course at the University of South Florida (USF) plays an important role in the emerging field of Rehab Engineering.  Students progress from taking an idea that has the potential to help individuals with disabilities to designing and building a prototype.  The course, based on a 15-week semester, gives students the opportunity to work on real world problems in a structured amount of time.

Some previous projects included a “bead thrower” so a high level quad could toss beads to the crowd at Tampa’s annual Gasparilla Parade, a “piano pedal activator” so a paraplegic could use the piano pedals when he played, a “wheelchair umbrella” so users could push a manual chair without the need to hold on to the device, and a “ticket grabber” so quads could pull tickets at a parking garage.  The course is all about ideas that can be converted into practical designs to assist persons with disabilities.

If you have an idea or suggestion that students could work on, course instructors are looking for your feedback.  Email Jimmy Smith at smithj6@usf.edu with any potential project ideas.