Building Beyond Boundaries
For many of us, life consists of 2
worlds. The world of work and the world of play (Often with Family). For some
Work takes more out of life, with play as the escape. For others just the act
of getting through the day with their family is a significant accomplishment.
My oldest son is severely disabled, his siblings LOVE Lego (probably because
Dad loves Lego). This solution would hope to share this love with my Oldest
Son, but also provide a way to share Lego with all of my children as work
forces me to travel.
The ability to build from anywhere
in the World would allow me to be with my children in the spirit of play as
work takes me away. The ability to build without the use of his hands would be
a gift I would give almost anything for my Son to experience.
It would consist of a cabinet sorted
by type, a robotic Arm with grabber hand to select each brick and a board. It
would be arranged with feeders so that a single brick is prepared for selection
based on verbal commands. Bricks could be programmed to be “brick 1 x 2 blue”
or “plate 4 x 6 grey” for those seeking precision. But other customized, less
complex terms associated with the grid assignment of each brick type programmed
during initial set-up. The intention would be to make it both precise and
flexible to work with less developed language. This grid based programming
allows for the parent of a special needs child to learn each location to their
ability and enhance the potential for play for those of all skill levels.
The robot hand would have 3 fingers
arranged for grabbing and aligning pieces, and a 4th “finger” in the center
that would apply pressure to snap the Lego’s together. It would follow one of 2
programs. Alignment in the build area can be in the same location (For a parent
to rotate the end product to receive the part) or to take commands on a 20 x 20
pad aligned in the build area. This 2nd method would follow commands like
“place at 2 right and 6 down”, or “left 2 more, up 1 more, snap in”
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