Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, September 27, 1994 TAG: 9409270076
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: KEN DAVIS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RADFORD LENGTH: Medium
It sits near the end of the hall, inconspicuous except for the paper cutouts of crayon-colored sandpails bearing the names of its two occupants: Patricia Meyers and Teresa Clendenin.
"Light on, please," says Meyers, a 29-year-old junior religion-philosophy major.
Seconds later, a desk lamp several feet away obeys her command. Meyers smiles, never moving her wheelchair.
"It's incredible," said Linda Conrads, director of Disabled Student Services. "There are a lot of applications we could use this technology for."
Nearly a year and a half after first working on "the electronic room," 21-year-old David Boyes said the voice-activated, fully computerized dorm room he designed for the disabled has passed its final test.
It actually works.
Boyes, a senior majoring in computer science, began designing his Voice-Activated Control System as an undergraduate research project in hopes of giving disabled university students hands-free control of their daily routine.
When the fall semester began in August, Boyes' software officially moved from the laboratory to reality, resulting in a dorm room that university officials claim has the most comprehensive and inexpensive computer system ever designed for the disabled.
"The neat thing is, David's got it within a price range that a student after graduation could easily afford within a couple of months," Conrads said. "There are a lot more applications we could use this for. I'd like to see this put in a work-study situation and add more rooms."
Boyes said his system, which was funded by a university honors society and two local Lions' clubs, costs about $4,000 - thousands less than systems now on the market that only operate one or two simple functions.
Boyes' system controls nearly 30 functions, from the most simple to the most complex.
In an hourlong demonstration of technical wizardry, Boyes and Meyers showed off the room's hands-free luxuries, such as operating the fan, telephone, entertainment center, toilet, room temperature, and even opening and closing drawers.
"It's been a God-send for me," Meyers said. "It gets me to class on time."
The electronic room was overwhelming to her when she first moved in, but three weeks of adjustment have convinced her to have the system in her own home after graduation.
"I wondered what David was getting me into at first," she said, smiling at Boyes as he worked with the automatic door. "But David's system suits me just perfect. If he can do this in a residence hall, just think what he can do with an apartment."
Clendenin, who is not disabled, agreed, adding that the electronic room is a popular tourist attraction among other students.
"We don't mind showing it off," said Clendenin, a 23-year-old graduate of Virginia Tech who is working on her nursing degree at Radford. "I think we're going to start charging admission though."
To operate the system, Boyes trains the computer to the user's voice, who must then wear a headset and speak commands into a microphone, followed by the word "please."
The system is operated by a central computer, which Boyes said does not need to be fast or use a large amount of memory. The system is connected into existing electrical and phone lines, leaving a room that is not cluttered with wires and equipment
In a power failure, a back-up battery can give the system 12-40 minutes of power, depending on what equipment is being used, Boyes said. Meanwhile, the phone automatically dials the campus Police Department and plays a prerecorded message informing it of the power outage.
Electronic advancements notwithstanding, the room is still not enough for Boyes. He said he hopes to receive more funding so he can continue improving the system after graduation.
"I'm loyal to Radford," he said. "I want to continue doing research here and see how far we can take this."
by CNB