The goal of the quilt was to facilitate speech therapy sessions for a non-verbal girl with Rhett Syndrome. We observed the pre-existing system in which she made associations between image and sound through her eye gaze. We wanted to extend this system, enabling her to make these choices physically despite her limited muscle control. The quilt can be placed on the wall, on a desk, on her lap or on the floor, depending on her muscle stamina and energy level.

This project was developed with Fiona Carswell, Nanna Halinen, Kate Hartman, Megan MacMurray, and Alice Tseng-Planas.

The project is continuing though only with Alice Tseng-Planas and myself. We have added capacitive switches, which are more robust and have greater sensitivity and are integrating the system with MAX/MSP. More to come when time permits.

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