Archived: FY 1999 PHASE II AWARDS

A r c h i v e d I n f o r m a t i o n

FY 1999 Phase II Awards

SPONSORING OFFICE:
Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services

Project Title:

Visual Assistant: A Portable Multimedia Training System for Community-Based Skill Development for Individuals with Mental Retardation

Firm Name:

AbleLink Technologies
1879 Austin Bluffs Parkway
Colorado Springs, CO 80918

Principal Investigator:

Daniel Davies
(719) 592-0347

Award:

$249,997

Abstract:
For some seven and one half million Americans, mental retardation truly is a significant, life-encompassing disability. An entire service industry has evolved in the United States, typified by a history of large institutions, followed by group homes and sheltered workshops, to today's services dominated by individualized living arrangements and supported community-based employment. This history innocently but loudly reveals the standard intervention that has and continues to be used for this population: that is, assistance from others. Computer technology offers promising new approaches to reducing dependence on others for individuals with mental retardation. Phase I of this SBIR project investigated the utility of Visual Assistant; a Windows CE based multimedia trainer for training specific community integration skills to individuals with mental retardation. During Phase I the system requirements were identified and a "proof-of-concept" prototype of the Visual Assistant system was developed and tested. The results of the pilot study demonstrated strong support for the contention that using a multimedia training program on a Handheld PC can effectively enhance independence for adults with mental retardation in performing community-based vocational tasks. Use of the Visual Assistant prototype resulted in improved task accuracy and increased independence when compared to a traditional training approach for subjects that were trained on two community-based vocational tasks. These differences were statistically significant (p<.05).

In this Phase II project we will build on the successful results of Phase I to:

complete the Visual Assistant multimedia software program,
build a companion software application for the PC that helps manage the setup of the Visual Assistant training tasks, and
perform expanded field testing of the system to evaluate its applicability for a wide range of activities of daily living and levels of disability.
Probably one of the most exciting aspects of the Visual Assistant system is its promise for reducing the need for human assistance when performing activities of daily living. Activities that have been too difficult without assistance from a caregiver or counselor can be programmed into the portable Visual Assistant system to help the individual perform the task independently maybe for the first time. Phase II will provide the opportunity to develop the Visual Assistant system fully for use on a variety of commercially available Palmtop and Handheld PCs so that its promise for increasing independence for individuals with mental retardation can be realized.

Summary of Anticipated Results and Implications:
Phase II will result in a commercial software application, Visual Assistant, that will be available for a wide variety of portable PC's running the Windows CE operating system. By capitalizing on commercially produced portable PCs, future Visual Assistant users will be able to choose from multiple supported living and training products that will be developed by AbleLink and other rehabilitation technology companies. This provides a much more cost-effective approach to providing portable independent living software because a single hardware purchase will be able to operate a variety of Windows CE software titles. The Visual Assistant system is projected to cost under $200. Given the large numbers of individuals with mental retardation and as well as other disability populations that have a similar need for reminder tools and task assistance (e.g. individuals with brain injury, Alzheimer's, and elderly individuals), the commercial potential for Visual Assistant is substantial.

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