Students develop gaming controller for 8-year-old with cerebral palsy
An eight-year-old boy with cerebral palsy can now enjoy the thrills of gaming thanks to a group of engineering students who have developed a customised controller. The developers say they were compelled to make the device because the existing one size fits all approach is preventing children with complex disabilities from playing.
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00 It's making me dizzy.
00:03 It's only the second time Jerome's had a go at gaming, but it's quickly become a family
00:08 favourite.
00:09 How's it further as you've gone?
00:12 The eight-year-old has cerebral palsy, which previously made gaming impossible, even with
00:17 existing assistive devices.
00:19 So students from Melbourne University set out to make a personalised controller uniquely
00:25 suited to Jerome.
00:27 When Jerome touches it, it kind of registers the electrical activity in his skin and it
00:33 outputs as computer keys.
00:36 So right now it's programmed to do left and right.
00:39 We came up with the kick button so that he could utilise his kick movements to control
00:46 the game.
00:47 The students have spent eight months working on the prototype, being guided by Jerome's
00:51 abilities as they adjust and finesse the design.
00:55 When he's upset or he's happy, he wants to communicate, he moves his body.
01:00 So we made a body tracking so that that will integrate something that he already does into
01:06 a system.
01:07 Now none of those things existed before.
01:09 Researchers say the technology developed here for Jerome could be adapted for other children
01:13 and adults, catering to a variety of complex disabilities.
01:17 They can use either their brain signals or their eye movements or their muscle movements
01:23 to control a video game.
01:24 So again, it has to be very specific to that person.
01:27 It's given Jerome a whole new perspective.
01:30 I definitely want him to have as much fun as he can and he works very hard.
01:36 For me personally, it's just having him to be like any other kid so we can yell at him
01:41 for playing too much video games.
01:45 Something every parent can relate to.
01:47 [BLANK_AUDIO]