Chad Ruble doesn't consider himself a technology person. But after a stroke that left Chad's mom partially physically impaired, his mom had a hard time using phones and other devices. Not one to ignore a challenge, Chad figured out how to combine an Arduino controller, Processing libraries, a Microsoft X Box Kinect and some of his own code to make a gestural-based messaging system. These hacks keep Chad Ruble's mom in her house living independently. Now Chad is a maker who is creating interfaces for people with disabilities to interact with others via technology. In this webcast Chad shares how he as a 'non tech' person took to 'hacking' his way through a lot of homemade projects and learned from trial and error. In the end he though he created a system which translates large motions into messages, meaning that Mom is less isolated while maintaining her independence. Chad shares how he built his first version of a solution, how it has evolved into a web-based system that you can use, and how you can make or hack your own assistive solutions.

1. Assistive Messaging
Chad Ruble
A part of the Hands-On Ideas series
April 17, 2013

2. About me
• Background in television
news, but was always drawn
to get "under the hood" with
Relevant image here
technology. My mom's
communication difficulties
and a dissatisfaction with the
cost and design of solutions
led me to create my own.
So, I ended up collaborating
Mom and her iPad
with her on a bunch of
different technological
solutions.

6. Arduino
Openly Disruptive

7. Kinecticate
Openly Disruptive

8. Web-based - Iconicate
Openly Disruptive

10. Email

11. Exploration in non-traditional
interfaces for messaging
Openly Disruptive

12. Some big themes
Demographics are shifting. Aging boomers and an
increase of care.
Technology is increasingly easy to create and
customize: Arduino, Processing, 3D printing, Web
2.0 (HTML5, CSS3, Javascript, Libraries, 3rd
Parties),
Tinkers - assistive tech is a great place where
simple things can have a huge impact.
(Prosthetics, cups, handles).
Openly Disruptive

13. What I learned
Huge range of comfort with technology.
Rapid prototyping was a great way to get real learning.
Building Tapgram as a Web-based application made
iterations very easy. But some fuction/speed/and UI
design would benefit from native iOS and Android.
Small things might be "simple tech" can be super
effective.

14. How you can build off my work
I've posted a lot on my blog.
If you are looking for any code or schematics that aren't
there, please email me and I'm happy to provide.

15. Question and Answers