During a shoot for Live B1G, I sat down with Mary Elizabeth McCulloch. She is a junior at Penn State and is far from your average college student.
Aside from being a star student, she is a student-athlete making history at Penn State by being one of the top swimmers for the women’s team. However, McCulloch’s most impressive accomplishments are not with school or sports, but her community service.
McCullouch is working with her father’s company to create a cheap and rugged product that will bring a voice back to the voiceless.
The only technology currently out there that can help this condiction is an eye tracking product that cost anywhere from $10,000 to $60,000.
Currently, McCollouh is in the process of creating her own machine that will help children with nonverbal cerebral palsy communicate.
McCulloch’s main goal is to produce a low cost assistive speech device by keeping the cost of low as $200 in order for people to be able to afford it.
McCulloch and her father’s company are currently looking to have the device operate using a Bluetooth wireless pressure system that attaches underneath a wheelchair.
The individual will wear a glove to communicate through the device that would only require a simple movement as small as a twitch.
Their focus is convenient wearable technology so they are also testing other joints than those in hands such as toe, ankle knee, elbow and jaw.
– Ryan Ricker