Grace Harding – Head Shot

Author: Grace Harding | Major: Computer Engineering | Semester: Fall 2024
My name is Grace Harding. I’m a Computer Engineering student working in a team of students from the Engineering College with Dr. Jeff Dix from Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. In Fall 2024, my team and I began a two-semester long research project that we expect to finish in May 2025.
Our project is developing and testing a device that will allow a paraplegic student to participate in their school’s band. Each of our team members is tackling a different part of this project. Aidan Donoho, an Electrical Engineering student, is testing different motors and other electrical devices to determine which ones will be best suited for the unique requirements of the project. Andrew Files, a Mechanical Engineering student, is designing the physical device. My work is in the communication between the electronics on the device and the programming required to run it.

We came upon this project by having a faculty member reach out to us. At the time, I was President of the University’s Robotics Club, and they thought that the club might be able to
help. After meeting with the student and discussing their needs, we agreed. In the process, we
worked with the student to decide that the best instrument for them was the trombone. Once
we had an idea of what kind of device we needed to create, we worked with our club’s faculty
advisor, Dr. Dix, and he agreed to mentor us through a faculty-led research grant for the project.

We worked together to come up with a timeline for the project, and then began work.
This semester, Andrew Files and I would conduct multiple interviews with the student to gain a
better understanding of their needs, and allow them to provide their input on the design as it
came along. In the meantime, Aidan Donoho would select several different motors to test
against different metrics, and determine which one would be best for our device.

Since I can only do preliminary work for the programming of the device before Donoho
and Files finish their work, this semester I’ve been primarily working with the way the student
will control the device. During my interviews with the student, I learned a lot about creating
accessible interfaces. They have very little mobility in their hands and arms, so creating an
interface that they could use was challenging. When playing the trombone, the player needs to
control the exact position of the slide, as well as the speed the slide approaches the position.

To determine the design, I first began by looking at other devices people had created for
similar purposes. However, the mobility restrictions of the student are very specific, so studying
those designs wasn’t of much use. Instead, I spoke with them about the interfaces that they like
to use currently, and what issues they might anticipate having with controlling a trombone slide.
Together, we determined that using an interface similar to their current wheelchair controller
would be suitable. Years of use made the student familiar with the interface, and we would
know ahead of time that there would be no issues with prolonged use.

With this information, I began working on creating simple controller code for the device.
I also researched different bluetooth boards, like the ESP-32, to see if we could control the
device directly from the user’s wheelchair. Since testing this would require prolonged access to
the wheelchair, I first worked with simulating the basic control commands. Once I could move a
position forward and backwards, I implemented additional methods, like PID loops, to allow for
smoother and more accurate control.

Next semester, as my teammates work on a physical prototype and eventually the final
device, I will migrate the code from simple models to real motor controls. This will mean setting
up and establishing communications between any microcontrollers and motor controllers or
potentiometers that we select. Which of these we will have on the device will be determined by
our choice in motor from Donoho’s research. The most likely outcome is using a CANbus system
to relay motor control signals from a main microcontroller. Then, I’ll work on testing my code
and improving the control until I can create a smooth, accurate, and easy system for the
student. As my work should be the last to finish, once it’s complete the student will be able to
participate in their school’s band without any assistance.