1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,330


2
00:00:05,330 --> 00:00:09,190
WILLIAM LI: So the class
was started in 2011.

3
00:00:09,190 --> 00:00:12,300
That was the first
time it was offered

4
00:00:12,300 --> 00:00:16,010
in the fall semester of 2011.

5
00:00:16,010 --> 00:00:20,570
It was founded by
Professor Seth Teller, who

6
00:00:20,570 --> 00:00:23,780
has done a lot of work over
the past couple of decades,

7
00:00:23,780 --> 00:00:27,760
particularly in computer
vision and in robotics.

8
00:00:27,760 --> 00:00:32,180
And over time I think he saw
that a lot of the work that he

9
00:00:32,180 --> 00:00:35,730
was doing could also be
applicable to assistive

10
00:00:35,730 --> 00:00:38,550
technology or
technologies that can

11
00:00:38,550 --> 00:00:42,520
help people with disabilities
live more independently

12
00:00:42,520 --> 00:00:45,560
or help them in their
day-to-day lives.

13
00:00:45,560 --> 00:00:50,020
So I think over the
past maybe decade

14
00:00:50,020 --> 00:00:53,165
or so, he's been involved
in a lot of course creation

15
00:00:53,165 --> 00:00:57,000
and creating robotics courses
and other undergraduate

16
00:00:57,000 --> 00:00:59,910
courses in electrical
engineering, computer science.

17
00:00:59,910 --> 00:01:03,740
And I think that this
class was in a lot

18
00:01:03,740 --> 00:01:07,960
of ways kind of an extension
to that to some extent,

19
00:01:07,960 --> 00:01:11,690
focused on assistive technology.

20
00:01:11,690 --> 00:01:14,900
Over the years, I
think Seth had a chance

21
00:01:14,900 --> 00:01:19,450
to work in assistive
technology in research projects

22
00:01:19,450 --> 00:01:22,750
and then interact a lot with
people with disabilities

23
00:01:22,750 --> 00:01:25,830
in the Cambridge area
or the Boston area

24
00:01:25,830 --> 00:01:30,380
and really get a sense of the
kinds of practical challenges

25
00:01:30,380 --> 00:01:34,140
that they face and how
technology could help.

26
00:01:34,140 --> 00:01:37,320
So that really I think
was the motivation

27
00:01:37,320 --> 00:01:40,740
for starting the
class, trying to work

28
00:01:40,740 --> 00:01:43,660
with this group of
people and also to tap

29
00:01:43,660 --> 00:01:47,520
into the interest of
undergraduate students

30
00:01:47,520 --> 00:01:49,830
to work on service
learning projects

31
00:01:49,830 --> 00:01:54,590
or to apply their design and
engineering skills to something

32
00:01:54,590 --> 00:01:56,230
meaningful.

33
00:01:56,230 --> 00:02:00,000
So he taught this class
of the past three years,

34
00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:05,340
and we're fortunate to
be teaching it this fall.

35
00:02:05,340 --> 00:02:07,500
GRACE TEO: In terms of
departmental support

36
00:02:07,500 --> 00:02:11,009
for the class, so because
Professor Teller was part

37
00:02:11,009 --> 00:02:13,260
of the electrical engineering
and computer science

38
00:02:13,260 --> 00:02:17,340
department at MIT, that's
mainly where it has been housed

39
00:02:17,340 --> 00:02:23,070
for the last three and this
year as well-- so four years--

40
00:02:23,070 --> 00:02:25,760
going forward, we're
actually looking

41
00:02:25,760 --> 00:02:30,005
to cross list a class between
electrical engineering

42
00:02:30,005 --> 00:02:34,190
and computer science,
mechanical engineering,

43
00:02:34,190 --> 00:02:37,410
as well as health
sciences and technology.

44
00:02:37,410 --> 00:02:41,250
And so I would say
that when it was housed

45
00:02:41,250 --> 00:02:43,790
within electrical engineering
and computer science,

46
00:02:43,790 --> 00:02:46,330
we had a lot of computer
science students come to us.

47
00:02:46,330 --> 00:02:48,210
And so a lot of
the other projects

48
00:02:48,210 --> 00:02:52,050
ended up being
software-related projects,

49
00:02:52,050 --> 00:02:53,560
because that was
their skill set,

50
00:02:53,560 --> 00:02:56,160
and that's what they
were comfortable with.

51
00:02:56,160 --> 00:02:58,820
But we've also seen that a
lot of assistive technology

52
00:02:58,820 --> 00:03:01,830
requires hardware design
as well, and so that's

53
00:03:01,830 --> 00:03:03,740
why we're bringing in
mechanical engineering

54
00:03:03,740 --> 00:03:05,540
support for the class.

55
00:03:05,540 --> 00:03:09,310
And as for health sciences and
technology, their role at MIT

56
00:03:09,310 --> 00:03:11,190
is really to serve
as this integrated

57
00:03:11,190 --> 00:03:14,690
force between different
facets of engineering

58
00:03:14,690 --> 00:03:17,270
and the medical community.

59
00:03:17,270 --> 00:03:21,350
And so what we're hoping to
do next year with HSTS, Health

60
00:03:21,350 --> 00:03:24,060
Science and
Technology Support, is

61
00:03:24,060 --> 00:03:27,080
to bring in occupational
therapists into the class

62
00:03:27,080 --> 00:03:30,270
as well to help the students
with their projects.

63
00:03:30,270 --> 00:03:30,770
So yeah.

64
00:03:30,770 --> 00:03:33,810
Just in thinking about the
different skill sets that

65
00:03:33,810 --> 00:03:37,180
go into the projects, we do
think software, hardware,

66
00:03:37,180 --> 00:03:40,340
and then being able to interface
with the health side of things

67
00:03:40,340 --> 00:03:41,923
is very important.

68
00:03:41,923 --> 00:03:42,423