How can an individual with a disability move their wheelchair and at the same time use one hand to talk to another person on a mobile phone and with the other hand walk a dog on a leash?
Today thanks to Genny, this is possible. Genny is a high-tech device, which already allows a large number of disabled people to move safely in spaces previously inaccessible to them and moreover with their hands free.

“As a mother of three young boys, time is not something I have in abundance. My youngest son has a neurological condition that prevents him from being able to move voluntarily; meaning he is 100% dependant on others. Due to this, dressing and undressing him is an extremely difficult task, especially when it comes to putting on t-shirts, jumpers and jackets. Looking for solutions already available, it was clear there wasn’t anything very appealing or trendy for older children or teenagers, nor any products that would satisfy or solve our littlest man’s dressing challenge.

The aim of the pillow is to reduce the risk of suffocation. It also indirectly helps to reduce anxiety, fear, and stress, so people can sleep better. Professionals have decreed that anti suffocation pillows are highly recommended and no epileptic patient should sleep on a classic pillow or a soft mattress for the purpose of prevention.

“Death from suffocation can result within minutes when a child or adult suffering a seizure becomes entrapped in an ordinary pillow which blocks their nose and mouth.
Solution: Anti-suffocation pillow!”, it says on the oficial website.

The app will monitor the movement of the person while the phone is in their pocket or worn on a belt. The software will differentiate the movements associated with epilepsy from normal movement.

Proloquo4Text is an iOS app created by David, and consists on a text-based communication app that gives a voice to people who cannot speak.

This app is a solution for literate children, teenagers and adults, including people with autism, cerebral palsy, developmental disabilities, apraxia, ALS/MND, laryngectomy, stroke, or traumatic brain injury.

Adapted from: http://www.assistiveware.com/product/proloquo4text

David created KeyStrokes™, a fully-functional, advanced on-screen keyboard providing people with physical impairments as well as graphic tablet and touch screen users full access to the computer. His friend Giesbert helped him by designing the application icon for KeyStrokes as well as for several of the later AssistiveWare products.

Proloquo2Go®, created by David, is an application for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch that provides a “voice” for people who have difficulty speaking or cannot speak at all.

Natural sounding speech is generated by touching on-screen buttons representing common actions and requests, or typing into a predictive text keyboard.

For people with visual impairments, color becomes important at the moment when they are embedded in a society ruled by color and, since they can’t do its apprehension, partial or total, they may feel excluded or too dependent from others.

His sister had infantile polio, which presented her with physical problems in coping with her day-to-day life. His sister lived in Hertfordshire and was confined to a wheelchair, but had upper body movement. Because she was widowed, she relied on her children and neighbours for day-to-day support with her mobility. She even needed help getting her wheelchair down the two front steps to go to the shops.

Voiceitt is an app with the ability to convert unintelligible speech into clear audio. With machine learning, Voiceitt identifies and learns speech, regardless the way you do so. ​​​People with conditions such as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Cerebral Palsy, Stroke, Brain Damage, Autism, Parkinson's Disease and more benefit from the app's abilities.

The concept for Be My Eyes originated from heartfelt conversations with blind friends who relied on the FaceTime feature of their iPhones to seek guidance from sighted individuals. However, they often faced the challenge of ensuring their friends were available and willing to assist them at any given time.

Gary’s inventions enable lots of people with conditions such as cerebral palsy, autism, traumatic brain injury, stroke, and ALS to speak.

In addition to cerebral palsy, the EyeMax is designed for those with other conditions that mean they can't communicate verbally or through touch, such as those affected by motor neurone disease, spinal cord injuries, locked in syndrome and other similar conditions.

Logan created a door closing aid, by tying a lace on the interior door handle, weighted down by a key: keeping the spare key here, rather than in the lock, also means that the door can be opened by a rescuer in case he has a fall. Then as he leaves he grabs the lace or key and gives it tug as he leaves, letting go before the door shuts. This saves him having to go back to pull the door shut, leaving the spare key inside.

He also puts pipe lagging on his radiators, in case he needs to grab it to prevent a fall, to save burning his hands.

He built a hat catcher, using a retractable line from a pen, a lanyard, with a safety break to avoid throttling accidents, and a clip to connect the two.

“Once the lanyard and retractable line are connected, the hat is clipped to the line. The device is worn around the neck, backwards so the bulky bit hangs out of the collar at the back. Now when he’s out and about, the hat can only fly the length of the string, and can be easily retrieved”, Logan explained.

The young girl came up with this idea when her sister was diagnosed with Graves Diseases, an autoimmune disease that affects the thyroid. The inventor’s sister has to take medicine for the resto of her life.

A discrete alarm, which is on the user’s wrist, sounds when it’s time to take the medicine.

The compartment is locked with a code, and the watch has other features, such as event reminders and phone capabilities.

Holly’s watch entry was chosen along with Year 3 and 4 student entries demonstrating originality, creativity, practicality, imagination and innovation.

Mario thought up the idea of a Segway wheelchair, a technology that combines motorised wheelchairs with capabilities far beyond the conventional wheelchair. But the couple found out that these products were not only limited to customised measurements per individual, but also carried exorbitant price tags and equally high import costs.

Mario and Tharina met Mathys Roets at the Rademeyers Restaurant in Pretoria, where a group of wheelchair users, known as the Klofies, get together on Tuesdays. Mathys and Mario shared a passion for all things gadgets. They started having ideas.

Terry always complained that he could never get comfortable on regular furniture, and in fact, the only comfortable alternative to his wheelchair was to lie in bed, which caused him to fall asleep for two or three hours when he only wanted a short respite from his chair.

Frustrated by this he decided to create his own wheelchair friendly recliner, the rewards of which are very obvious to him.

His invention is a screw-based, motorized wheelchair transfer device using a reclaimed ATV motor and a battery pack that allows users to get in and out of wheelchairs by themselves.

The wheelchair project, called HU-GO, is currently in its first version, though Riveros has noted that he continues to make modifications and improvements to its design. For instance, in its second iteration, Riveros hopes to be able to 3D print the wheels and/or hubs. In its current version, HU-GO consists of 3D printed parts, a plywood frame, support rods, big wheels (the smaller wheels are 3D printed), and hardware, which include nuts and bolts as well as zip ties.

Because prosthetics are very expensive, especially when growing children need a new one every year or so, Hailey’s mother turned to the University of Nevada, where she and professor Brendan O’Toole found a team of students more than willing to work on a 3D printed prosthetic.

The grabbing mechanism in this prosthetic is in the wrists. The fingers grab when her wrist is down, and open up when her wrist moves upward.