Accessibility · Design
Assistive technology
Developed in partnership with United Cerebral Palsy of Los Angeles, Hackaday, and Supplyframe, this affordable, inclusive platform was designed to help people with cerebral palsy and other conditions access the digital world.
How it works
Assistive buttons and joysticks often work with only a few devices, cost a lot, and are hard to tailor to each person. For this project, Tensegrity Labs engineered and built the Adaptive Universal Remote: a 20-button backlit keypad paired with a separate IR blaster. The keypad sends each command wirelessly to the blaster, so there is nothing to aim, and the blaster controls the TV or other nearby devices by infrared.
The remote works out of the box with Roku devices, and any button can learn a command from an existing remote in a few presses. Adjustable backlighting and optional vibration feedback confirm each press, and the rechargeable keypad runs about 10 to 14 days on a charge. The design files, firmware, and build guides are open source so others can make their own.
A partner on the team designed and built a separate gesture controller for the same project.