LipSync Monday Makeaton

This past March, the #BCTECH Summit partnered with the Neil Squire Society, a Canadian not-for-profit organization using technology to empower people with disabilities, for an event called LipSync Monday Makeaton.

Two Biomedical Engineering Technologists from BCITS, Kevin Choi and Roger Desmarais, participated in this event taking place at the Vancouver Convention Centre. All in all there were 12 teams registered. Each of those teams were provided various components. They were then instructed to build a LipSync, a mouth controlled input device, which would enable a user to operate a touchscreen on a smart device without using hands and with a minimum of head and neck movement.

All the hardware and electronic components are contained in the “head” of the gadget, therefore avoiding any need for extra containers, making the LipSync a neat, compact, wheelchair-mounted solution. An ideal LipSync requires only very slight pressure on the shaft in order to move the cursor on a screen and it allows users to perform left and right mouse button clicks by alternatively puffing or sipping into the tube.

The ultimate goal for this event was that each team built a working LipSync gadget and would receive feedback on the product. By the end of the day, two products were fully completed while others were close to be finished.

If you are interested in either receiving weekly LipSync updates or in receiving a LipSync, you can find more information here.