Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Assistive Communication Aids - May Meeting

Ray Feraday teaches in a classroom with many special needs students. He, and his students, have built speaking aids for some students who are unable to talk, using Raspberry Pi computers and associated signal sensing hardware, including home-made conductive touch boards. The cost for such aids is minimal, compared to commercial products. They also function better, because the devices are tailored to the abilities and needs of each student. A few of his students are also able to write code for such devices, and for personal games.

Radio Controlled (RC) flying - April Mtg.

Ralph Trauzzi, of the Oshawa RC Flying Club, brought several of his own models and remote control systems. His largest, and most expensive model, is equipped with a jet engine. Much of his flying, including indoor events, is accomplished with battery powered models. He extends the life batteries by using computer software to control and monitor the charging rate.