open2012 technology-innovations-disabilities-goldberg

Department of Veterans AffairsTechnology Innovations for Persons with Disabilities (TIPeD)

Department of Veterans Affairs

Mary Goldberg, MEd

Jon Pearlman, PhD

Education & Outreach Coordinator

Assistant Professor, RST, SHRS

Department of Rehabilitation Science and TechnologySchool of Health and Rehabilitation SciencesHuman Engineering Research Laboratories


Talk outline

• Program overview & plan• 1st cohort results• Program replication• Feedback and questions


Departmental structure

• Rehabilitation Science & Technology

• Human Engineering Research Laboratories

• Veterans Affairs• QoLT• Intern programs


TIPeD Program• Product development program funded

by NCIIA• Augment ASPIRE & QoLT REU

programs


Background

• Assistive technology & participation in society

• Inappropriate designs• Design shortcomings• Improve independence and safety

of users


Background

• AT market• 3rd party payers• Performance & safety

requirements• Academic institutions• Valley of death


Technology transfer

• SBIR and STTR programs• Technology transfer offices within

universities• Interdisciplinary programs


HERL technology development• Commercialized 5 products• 3 patents awarded; 9 pending• Research & user-driven

innovations • Business partners• Multidisciplinary faculty, students,

& staff


HERL technology development• Design & fabrication facilities• Funding streams• SBIR/STTR involvement


Design Series


NCIIA funding

• Requested support for multidisciplinary teams

• Workshops on innovation & entrepreneurship

• Tours of local companies• Collaborative program facilitation


Evidence-based program model• Experiential learning• Solving problems of social

relevance


Program structure

• Interdisciplinary leadership team• Solicited ideas from faculty• Project mission• Commercial potential• Feasible 10-week objectives• Result in SBIR proposal


Participants

• Funding challenge• 1 engineering & 1 business student• Law student to investigate

intellectual property


Students’ tasks

• Technology design, development, and evaluation

• SBIR proposal instead of technical paper


Learning objectives


Activities

• Enhanced cohort– ELeVATE

– REU

– Bridge

• Talks


Weekly meetings

• Elevator pitch• Tasks completed• Next steps• Archives & team websites


SBIR Proposal• Technology

– Research and development efforts

– Technical merit

– Feasibility

• Commercialization– Market description

– IP protection

– Finance plan

– Marketing plan

– Revenue stream


Other deliverables

• Poster• Oral presentation• Participation in comprehensive

symposium


Evaluation and sustainability plan• 50% success rate on securing seed

funding within 12 months of starting summer project

• 25% success rate on establishing an operating company, measured by actual sales within two years of starting summer project


Evaluation and sustainability plan• At least one nationally-advertised

design award, per year (RESNA, Lemmelson)

• Obtain additional funding for TIPeD from federal agency or foundation within the first 12 months of program


1st cohort-summer 2011

• 6 primary students• Bus Buddy• Low-cost footwear• Smart controller


Bus Buddy

• Novel self-administered containment system


Bus Buddy

• Reduced:– System Weight by ~30%

– Upright Weight by ~60%

– Upright Width by ~40%

– Lateral Arm Weight by ~10%

– Cost ~70%

• Increased:– Upright Strength

– Efficiency of the Lifting Mechanism


FINANCES• Price: $1,000/unit• Sales in Units:

Year 1: 30 units Year 2: 150 units Year 3: 1,000 units Year 4: 2,000 units Year 5: 3,000 units• Cost: $750 Years

1 and 2; $650 each year after

• Financing: $500k• Break Even: Year 3

STRATEGY #1• Contract with

Manufacturers for Device Components

• In-House Marketing

1 2 3 4 5

($1,000,000)

($500,000)

$0

$500,000

$1,000,000

$1,500,000

$2,000,000

$2,500,000

$3,000,000

$3,500,000 Revenue

Gross Margin

Operating Income

Year

U.S

. Dol

lars

Forecasted Revenue, Gross Margin, and Operating Income

Production Strategy


Low-Cost Basic Custom Fit Footwear

• Diabetic footwear• Ordering and distribution system• Sandals with assembly instructions• Business plan for establishing

footwear microenterprises to sell both custom and regular sandals


Low-Cost Basic Custom Fit Footwear


Production & Marketing

Leather

Step 1. MaterialsStep 2. Draw and Cut Step 3. Packing with Instruction

Step 4. EntrepreneurStep 5. Selling

Rubber

• Final production will be done by entrepreneurs• 90 to 160 entrepreneurs can sell the shoes from 2012 to 2016


Finance plan

　 Y1 Y2 Y3 Y4 Y5

Target Market

AshantiUpper East

Western

AshantiUpper East

Western

GhanaAmericas(33%)

GhanaAmericas(66%)

Cote D'ivoreTogo

GhanaAmericas(100%)

Cote D'ivoreTogo

Sales 29,102 53,023 1,479,333 2,851,528 4,168,453

Revenue 87,305 169,675 15,832,557 35,580,305 57,797,959

COGS 81,779 153,198 6,352,339 15,553,388 27,361,363

Gross Margin 5,526 16,478 9,480,218 20,026,917 30,436,597

Operating Expenses 127,101 208,986 3,809,013 7,926,456 11,642,263

Income Before Taxes (121,575) (192,508) 5,671,206 12,100,460 18,794,333

Net Income (123,705) (215,471) 3,520,609 7,247,513 11,268,637

Sponsor Money 30,000 55,000 370,000 430,000 450,000

• Initial Investment : $100,000

• Financing : $200,000 at Y1 for operating expense


Powered Mobility Controller Platform• Smart controller for Personal

Mobility and Manipulation Appliance (PerMMA)Gen I as PerMMA I Controller Gen II as PerMMA II Controller


Top View of Smart Controller

Amplifiers to control driving wheels

Customized PCB board.Interface btw sensors, encoders and PC

Kill Switch for Safety PC – Single Board Embedded Cobra

10.5”

5.25”

10.00”

Input Command,i.e, joystick

Display from PC

Two fans to Cool System Down

Power Switch

Ethernet Connection to communicate with another computer

Smart Controller Design


Market Research• Potential users and market size

– Powered mobility device users

• Market size:

– 1.4-2.1 million (represents 61-91% of all wc users)

– Persons 65+: by 2030, 75% of 69 million people will be 65+

– 40% increased users based on prescriptions

– Powered mobility devices suppliers or manufacturers

• Invacare, Permobil, Pride Mobility, etc

– Powered mobility research

• 200+ enttities

– Higher education: estimated 5,700

– Wheelchair clinics: estimated 15,000


Commercialization factors• Promising preliminary data

– Safe and reliable

– Improving the driving performance

– Used for multiple research projects

• Platform technology– Used on three EPWs already

– Conduct some clinical studies

• FDA approval– Will not be a big issue

– hardware and software design are according to FDA requirements

– Previous experiences on similar products


Evaluation

• 100% recommend program• 78% suggest interest in

entrepreneurship increase– Independent thinking skills


Evaluation


Challenges

• Student funding• Mentorship commitment variability• Faculty familiarity with technology

transfer


Changes

• Templates• Training• Basecamp• MS Engineering/MBA student

involvement


Program Outcomes

• Big Idea Competition• LINC Designs• 1 SBIR submitted• Grants in review


Create your own program

• $80k/year including admin, student stipends, project supplies, travel expenses

• 10% supported by NCIIA– Supplies

– Admin support

– Travel to design competitions & entrepreneurship conferences



• Multidisciplinary partnerships across university departments

• Project based courses– e.g. RST design series

• Independent study courses



• Workshops– Concept generation

– Prototyping

– Patents

– Intellectual property

– Product development economics

– Managing projects


Acknowledgements • Funding: National Collegiate Innovators &

Inventors Alliance Grant #7563-10, National Science Foundation Grants EEC0540866 & EEC0849878, Berg Center for Ethics & Leadership

• Mentors: Mary Jo Geyer, Dennis Janisse, Linda van Roosmalen, Eric Porach, Honwu Wang,Rory Cooper

• Students: Melvin McElrath, Max Gruder, Kira Eckstein, Jonathan Valz, Rob Fillippi, Joe Trebitz, QoLT Foundry Interns


References*• Ansi/Resna. “American National Standard for Wheechairs-- Volume 1-19 Wheelchairs used as seats in

motor vehicles.” Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America: Virginia (2000).

• Auerswald, P.E. and L.M. Branscomb. “Valleys of Death and Darwinian Seas: Financing

• the Invention to Innovation Transition in the United States.” The Journal of Technology Transfer, 28 (2003): 227-239.

• Hawtrey, K. "Using Experiential Learning Techniques." Journal of Economic Education, 38 (2007): 143-152.

• Kirby, R.L. and D.A. MacLeod. "Wheelchair-related injuries reported to the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System: an update." RESNA 2001 Annual Conference: Reno, NV (2001).

• Knotts, T.L. "The SBDC in the Classroom: Providing Experiential Learning Opportunities at Different Entrepreneurial Stages." Journal of Entrepreneurship Education, 14 (2011): 25-38.

• Kolb, D. “Experiential Learning Theory: Previous Research and New Directions” In R. J. Sternberg and L. F. Zhang (Eds.), Perspectives on cognitive, learning, and thinking styles. NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, (2000).

• Kolb, D. Experiential learning. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall (1984).

• Legs to Stand On. http://www.legstostandon.org (2011)

• McCarthy, P.R. & H.M. McCarthy. "Why Case Studies are not Enough: Integrating Experiential Learning into Business Curricula." Journal of Education for Business 81 (2009): 201-204.

• Phillips, B. and H. Zhao. "Predictors of Assistive Technology Abandonment." Assistive Technology, 5 (1993): 36-45.

*Additional project references (i.e. from Bus Buddy, Low-Cost Footwear, Smart Controller projects) available upon request.


Contact informationMary R. GoldbergUniversity of PittsburghSchool of Health and Rehabilitation SciencesRehabilitation Science and Technology6425 Penn AvePittsburgh, PA 15206mrh35@pitt.eduwww.herl.pitt.eduwww.qolt.pitt.edu412-822-3700

open2012 technology-innovations-disabilities-goldberg

Documents

months of program

program overview plan

upright weight

year resna

qolt reu programs

additional funding

system weight

andevaluation sbir proposal