The 316 Adaptive Device Program gives high school students who participate in FIRST Robotics Competition the opportunity to use the skills they have learned to improve the lives of physically challenged individuals and the organizations that serve them.
High school students in FIRST Robotics Competition learn to design, build, program a 125 lb industrial size robot used to compete on a basketball size field. After the competition season has come to an end these students use the STEM skills they have learned to design, fabricate and donate adaptive devices, impacting the community now.
It all started several years ago when students were asked by Delaware Easter Seals to design, build and donate a volleyball launcher for a quadriplegic who wanted to launch a ball into the opening round of the annual Delaware Easter Seals Fundraiser Tournament. Following the tournament the students brought the device back to their shop and modified it so that DES could use it in a variety of settings using different types of balls. This allowed DES to serve individuals in small group settings thru large group events.
Other projects developed through this program include Jump Assist, a jumprope designed for a child with a congenital amputation who wanted to jump rope like all the other children in his class. The design included making it adjustable and using materials that were sweat-resistant.
More recently the students designed CAD and created a custom mold for adaptive swim fins. They used a CNC machine to cut them before molding them and they are being used by veteran amputees and spinal cord injury victims as they are trained in SCUBA so they can be free from the confines of gravity. Our students are currently working on a pediatric version.
To accommodate program expansion we need to redesign the existing lab and purchase some new tools, and equipment that will allow us to create additional workstations.
