Infusing assistive technology in undergraduate engineering education

In the US and around the world, the most rapidly growing population is the segment consisting of individuals who are 80 years or older. For this generation, the number of people with impairment or disability is increasing at such a high rate, the current government program or support will not be able to provide a long term solution to this problem. With the rising health care cost compounded with the government fiscal constraint, a new solution must be developed to allow for successful independent living for the elderly. This paper is aimed at introducing an actively developing undergraduate educational initiative in Assistive Technology (AT) at California State University, Fullerton (CSUF). Assistive technology consists of any product or device that is utilized to improve independent living of an individual with special needs. The paper discusses how the infusion of assistive technology can educate undergraduate engineering students to design and develop AT devices through interdisciplinary collaboration with students from majors such as gerontology, psychology, and health sciences. To accomplish this, the assistive technology initiative will train college students by emulating an industrial design/production cycle with collaboration among students with varying degrees of skills and academic preparation (multilevel collaboration). Another objective of the paper is to increase awareness in assistive technology among college students and the university community to better prepare for the possible threat that the aging and disability pose in the near future.