Tech steps towards a new life
Seven-year-old Tanna - photo
courtesy of Novita Children's Services From helping children with special needs to walk, to revamping the BBQ and the surfboard, engineering students are applying their knowledge in exciting ways.
Some children with physical disabilities that affect walking need special care and attention to help them reach their full potential with mobility.
A team of Mechanical Engineering students, in partnership with Novita Children’s Services, is developing a special “exoskeleton” to help in the rehabilitation of children who have difficulty walking.
The exoskeleton was one of the hundreds of final-year projects on display at the recent Ingenuity expo for the University’s Faculty of Engineering, Computer and Mathematical Sciences.
“The exoskeleton is designed to provide clinicians with a repetitive and controlled rehabilitation system to use with their patients. It’s flexible enough to support a range of exercises aimed at correcting and strengthening a child’s walking pattern,” says project member Nathan Young.
“Our project aims to improve on current rehabilitation methods by including motion systems that help with the active control of the pelvis.”
In addition to the control system and mechanical design, the project team – involving students Yuming Huang, Zefeng Shao, Jiazhen Wang, Jiaqi Xiao and Yi Ying – will develop a computer-based simulation. This will help them to better understand the system’s operating parameters and possible responses of the patient during therapy.
“Anything we can do that will potentially help children to walk will be of great relief to many families,” Nathan says.
The Smart BBQ can cook a perfect steak
with the help of | 
