Tuesday, 12/20/2016
The Robotics Laboratory of
the Department of Industrial Electronics (DEI) of the EEUM opened its doors to
a week dedicated to the adaptation of electronic toys for children with special
needs. The initiative is already in the 11th edition.
The Robotics Group of the DEI of the EEUM carried out an initiative to
adapt electronic toys, which will be distributed in the cities of Braga and
Guimarães. These toys are intended for children with cerebral palsy with
various cognitive and mobility limitations.
Promoted by UMinho Social Services, the initiative is supported by institutions
and companies such as Sociedade Martins Sarmento and Bot'n Roll that help with
the materials. SALUSLIVE provides the help with the distribution of toys to institutions
that take in special children.
The
assembly line counted daily with a group of students and two professors of the
DEI. Fernando Ribeiro, professor in charge of the project, explains that
"these children have great difficulty in activating the toys.
For this reason, we have adapted a large switch so that children can operate it with other parts of the body that are not so limited, such as the neck or feet”.
For the professor, the main motivation is to adapt toys that reach everyone, spending as little as possible: "An adapted toy costs a lot of money, about € 200 or € 300 and that does not make sense. We bought plastic boxes, wires, cards and all of this costs us a few cents" Fernando Ribeiro highlights. Although the adaptation is different in each toy and the work can vary from a few minutes to a few hours, the team has no doubt that these facts only stimulate and challenge creativity. "There are dolls that move the legs, but as these children cannot walk and accompany them, we change the interior and removed this movement. This is a job that also forces us to think ", the professor explains.
Between December 12th and 16th, EEUM’s Robotics Laboratory was transformed into a true toy adaptation workshop. 10 years of a solidarity initiative that promises, once again, to surprise the special children.
+ vídeo: https://youtu.be/MHHDK8McREo
