Daily Bulletin

Mouse collaboration aids visually impaired

"The important thing is that we've made a good contribution to society. That's really where the reward is for (co-inventor) Dan Madill and myself."

The virtual reality computer mouse that was developed three years ago by Krauel and Madill, a PhD student in electrical and computer engineering, has become famous in recent weeks with its nomination for an SAP/Stevie Wonder Award. As well, the mouse has been added to a list of aids for disabled people approved by the provincial Assistive Devices Program (ADP). Under that program, the government provides financial assistance for Ontario residents with long-term physical disabilities to buy special tools.

Allowing blind or visually impaired computer users to "feel" objects, the Virtual Reality Mouse (VRM) identifies, operates and navigates icons, menu items, buttons and internet hyperlinks in a Windows environment. The technology also has the potential to aid people with learning disabilities and physical impairments which make it difficult to use a standard mouse effectively.

Although conceived by Krauel and Madill, along with "our corporate sponsor," Jacob Apkarian, president of Quanser Consulting in Hamilton, the VRM had the support of numerous foster parents along the way, including Graham Strong, director of the Centre for Sight Enhancement at the UW School of Optometry.

"Graham has been so supportive of this project," said Krauel. "He really embraced the idea," suggesting funding souces and facilitating clinical studies.

Funding for the project was provided by the Ontario Rehabilitation Technology Consortium. When the time came to manufacture and market the mouse, its developers sought an alliance with a UW spinoff company, Control Advancements Inc., Kitchener, which is distributing the VRM world-wide through Betacom Corp, a Control Advancements subsidiary. Project leader at Control Advancements is Eric Kubica, also an adjunct assistant professor in the Centre for Sight Enhancement.

As for the SAP/Stevie Wonder Vision Award, the VRM was edged out by Kurzweil Educational Systems, Waltham, Massachusetts. Presented for the first time this year, the international awards were initiated as a joint effort by the German software company SAP and musician Stevie Wonder, in part "to recognise pioneers in business, academia and government whose research has helped the cause of total access and inclusion for the blind and visually impaired."

Strong, who attended the awards ceremony last week in New York is not disappointed. Not only was the nomination an honour, he said, but "it was worthwhile and productive to meet with the movers and shakers in blindness rehabilitation, product development and service delivery."

UW team wins aerial robotics design prize

A UW team won the best design award and placed second in the Millennial International Aerial Robotics Competition held last weekend in the United States.

The Waterloo Aerial Robotics Group, made up mainly of UW electrical and computer engineering graduate and undergraduate students, competed against top U.S. and Canadian universities in the event held in Washington State.

The competition involved having a flying robot survey an unknown terrain and help in a search-and-rescue effort. The robot was entirely under computer control, with no human intervention.

The UW team finished second, just behind Simon Fraser University. As well, the UW students received the best design award for their work, which included a complex integration of computer flight control, machine vision, pattern recognition and artificial intelligence.

"This is a very prestigious competition involving universities from all over North America including universities such as MIT and Georgia Tech," said David Wang, electrical and computer engineering professor, and faculty adviser for the team. "Many aspects of this competition push the boundaries of what is possible using current technology."

Joining project leader David Kroetsch on the team were core members Chris McKillop, Doug Hemingway, Gilbert Lai, Martin Hartshorne, and Vivek Balasubramanyam. They were assisted by members Adriano Bertucci, Alok Aggarwal, Cameron Woloshyn, Jan Bakus, Mattias Hembruch, Peter Vale, Tim Beyers and William Rosehart.

Word around campus

A utility shutdown is scheduled for Wednesday at 6 a.m. at East Campus Hall. The building will be without electrical power, heating, cooling and ventilation to allow for the installation of fibre cable by Waterloo North Hydro. Utilities should be restored by 8 a.m.

UW web site of the day

There he is in doublet and hose: Eric Praetzel, laboratory technologist by day, renaissance dude by night, whose computer in the Davis Centre provides a twentieth-century home for those whose heart is in the mediaeval past. That would be the Society for Creative Anachronism, of which Praetzel is a local pillar -- the site includes some photos of him in period costume playing period musical instruments.

"The SCA," he explains, "is a non-profit group specializing in historical education & research of the time period 600 to 1600. My main interests are music, dance and costume and so I have built a large (and growing) collection of information in that area. For example, I make CDs of SCA dance music on a non-profit basis and all of the music is available on my web page. Sheet music and MIDI files are also available."

Through Praetzel's page, users can also find out about SCA branches in other areas -- it's a continent-wide sodality -- and about renaissance music, chain mail, costumes and feasting.

The web site makes clear that Praetzel is a renaisasnce man in another sense. "I have travelled a bit and also have a collection of pictures for people to enjoy; and perhaps plan some trips of their own," he notes. Other links point to his material about fruit trees, RRSP fund prices, bicycling, mail order catalogues of the 1920s, and caving. Believe it or not, it's even possible to click over to a page about his work in electrical and computer engineering. http://sca.uwaterloo.ca/~praetzel/vacations.html

Barbara Elve
bmelve@nh4.adm.uwaterloo.ca

Editor of the Daily Bulletin: Chris Redmond
Information and Public Affairs, University of Waterloo
credmond@uwaterloo.ca | (519) 888-4567 ext. 3004
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