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Wireless RERC

"Logo for the Wireless RERC"

The Wireless RERC was established in October 2021 with support from the National Institute of Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR).  We are committed to engaging all key stakeholders, including people with disabilities, clinical care providers, and industry, to develop and pilot innovative, viable, and scalable technology services that enhance access to and effective utilization of mainstream wireless technology (e.g., smartphones, smart home devices, smart speakers, and wearables) for people with various disabilities. 

Read the original press release 

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"Image of a clinician interviewing a client on SmartTech usage"

Vision

We envision an inclusive society where people of all abilities and socioeconomic backgrounds can harness the power of mainstream wireless technologies for meaningful engagement in life activities.

Mission

To engage all relevant stakeholders — people with disabilities, clinical and community providers, and industry to create and pilot innovative, viable, and scalable technology services to expand access to and support effective use of mainstream wireless technologies among people with varying disabilities.

Projects

Smart Home Service Delivery

Purpose

  • Develop mainstream smart home technology (MSHT) service delivery models for different types of providers and demonstrate that MSHT, when implemented and supported effectively, can empower people with disabilities to participate fully and independently in home and community life.

Needs

  • People with disabilities and older adults prefer to live in their homes and communities.
  • The pandemic’s impact on people living in facilities such as nursing homes has brought more focus on the needs for home- and community-based services (HCBS).
  • MSHT are becoming increasingly powerful, affordable, and relevant to improving environment control, independence, and participation of people with disabilities.

Activities

  • Needs assessment: Analyze the needs and resources for establishing and providing MSHT service delivery programs at three sites including a university-based outpatient AT clinic, a VA outpatient AT clinic, and a regional Center for Independent Living (CIL).
  • Proof of Concept: Iteratively develop and refine the components of MSHT service delivery programs through pilot evaluations at each site.
  • Proof of Product: Implement smart home service delivery models at each site and evaluate the outcomes regarding program implementation (e.g., the percentage of participants who receive the prescribed devices and complete the training and user satisfaction) and impact (e.g., functional improvement, user acceptance, and perceived benefits of MSHT).

Deliverables

  • MSHT service delivery models for three different funding settings, which include tools and resources for each step of the delivery process including assessment protocols and tools, device selection guides, and training protocols and tools that can help improve access and effective use of MSHT in people with disabilities and empower them to participate independently in home and community living.
Mobile Access Assessment

Purpose

  • Develop a mobile device assessment tool (MoDAT) that can evaluate a person’s capacity for effective and efficient use of a mobile device.

Needs

  • Many people with disabilities struggle with using their mobile devices due to motor, cognitive, and sensory impairments.
  • Many users with impairments and practitioners lack awareness, knowledge, and skills on how to customize the mobile devices to address interaction needs.
  • There are no standardized tools that assess a user’s capacity for interacting with a mobile device and provide personalized recommendations for improved experience.

Activities

  • Develop a series of tasks for MODAT that enable assessment of common motor and cognitive functions required for mobile device use. Motor function tasks include grasps used to hold the device and navigation gestures such as tap (single or double), long hold, drag, swipe, and pinch. Cognitive function tasks cover attention, executive functioning, and memory.
  • Establish the psychometric properties of MoDAT.
  • Develop a pilot recommendation system that can generate personalized recommendations on device setup and configuration, and AT use.

Deliverables

  • MoDAT and a recommendation system that can help optimize mobile device use in people with disabilities and empower them to take full advantages of modern mobile technology.
Inclusive Innovation

Purpose

  • Build an inclusive community by developing infrastructure products including a voice assistance hub, a tech connect hub, and a Smart Tech for Independence Hackathon event.

Needs

  • Smart speakers/displays are becoming prevalent, but the usability and discoveries remain to be a problem.
  • Accessibility and usability issues with wireless products limit inclusivity, despite many existing guidelines and development tools.
  • People with disabilities are often not included in the mainstream product development and evaluation.

Activities

  • Voice Assistance Hub: Develop a web portal that supports people with disabilities, families and caregivers, and professionals to share, choose, test, and provide feedback on smart speaker functions and voice apps. Develop a conversational interface using conversational artificial intelligence (AI) to support discovery and retention of functions and voice apps curated in the web portal.
  • Tech Connect Hub: Develop a web portal that helps connect mainstream wireless tech companies/developers to people with disabilities and service professionals to facilitate inclusive design and evaluation of their products.
  • Smart Tech for Independence Hackathon: Engage people with disabilities and students from diverse backgrounds in wireless innovation using a co-design and interdisciplinary teaming approach. Learn more about Hack-cess Hackathon (tent. Feb. 2025)

Deliverables

  • Two web-portals including a voice assistance hub and a tech connect hub that help build a community of users with disabilities, families and caregivers, and professionals who not only benefit from wireless tech but also contribute to wireless product development and evaluation.
  • A number of innovative wireless prototypes from the Smart Tech for Independence Hackathon.
Voice of Stakeholders

Purpose

  • Identify areas of support for improving wireless technology access and competency in both professionals and people with disabilities.

Needs

  • Mainstream wireless technologies are increasingly used and play an important role in assistive and rehabilitative services for people with disabilities.
  • There is a lack of in-depth understanding of how people with disabilities and service professionals are using different types of wireless technologies, and the barriers and facilitators to access and effective use.
  • Existing surveys have gathered broad information on wireless tech use in people with disabilities and service professionals, but lack actionable recommendations.

Activities

  • Conduct a large-scale national survey and focus group interviews with professionals to examine their perception on service quality, barriers and facilitators, and educational and training needs regarding different types of mainstream wireless technology used in clinical and community services.
  • Conduct a large-scale user survey to examine usage patterns and user experience with different types of mainstream wireless technologies, as well as mobile device proficiency.
  • Develop actionable recommendations on wireless tech access and use based on findings from the surveys utilizing a Delphi approach with a panel of stakeholders.

Deliverables

  • A list of recommendations that could enable providers to support people with disabilities in using wireless technologies, and facilitate changes in research, education and professional training, policy, and technology development.
  • A list of recommendations that could address barriers to digital inclusion for people with disabilities by different stakeholders including wireless technology industry and developers, educators, healthcare, and social service providers, and policy makers.
Funding and Policy Study

Purpose

  • Identify areas of support for improving wireless technology access and competency in people with disabilities by examining the home- and community-based services (HCBS) policy coverage for mainstream wireless technologies and surveying the State AT Programs and alternative financing programs (AFPs) to understand their roles in facilitating access to and providing training of mainstream wireless technologies to people with disabilities.

Needs

  • With technology playing an increasingly important role in supporting home and community living, AT services listed under HCBS are expanding and many mainstream wireless technologies are beginning to be considered as AT. AT services under HCBS vary across the states in terms of not only the scope of services, but also provider qualifications and limitations on the amount, frequency, and duration.
  • The State AT Programs, and AFPs are major organizations that help increase awareness and access to AT for people with disabilities under the Assistive Technology Act. They hold first-hand information on how their clients are receiving AT services including mainstream wireless technologies under HCBS waivers. These organizations also provide services on AT device acquisition, training, and funding recommendations to people with disabilities.

Activities

  • Examine the coverage of mainstream wireless technologies (including mobile devices, smart home technology, and wearables) and associated services under AT services in Medicaid HCBS waivers across the states.
  • Examine services provided by State AT Programs and AFPs to support device acquisition, training, and funding recommendations for mainstream wireless technologies used as AT for people with disabilities using a scoping literature review, a survey, and interviews.
  • Develop actionable recommendations utilizing a Delphi approach with a panel of stakeholders.

Deliverables

  • A list of recommendations that could inform changes in AT services under Medicaid HCBS and AT services provided by the State AT Programs and AFPs, improve outcome collection, identify research priorities, and ultimately improving access and funding for mainstream wireless technologies and associated services to support health, independence, and participation of people with disabilities.
Smart Speaker Training

Purpose

  • Develop a smart speaker training intervention and evaluate its efficacy among people with motor and/or visual impairments.

Needs

  • Smart speakers have become pervasive technologies for automating instrumental activities of daily living through both ingrained functions and user-enabled voice apps. They also have potential to promote access to leisure activities, help reduce social isolation, and increase community engagement among people with disabilities.
  • Smart speaker use is limited by the lack of time, knowledge, and support to find essential use cases, and privacy concerns.
  • There is a lack of interventional studies on smart speakers.

Activities

  • Develop START, a multi-modal training intervention, using an iterative, stakeholder-driven approach.
  • Evaluate the usability of START interactive learning guides using five usability criteria including effectiveness, efficiency, engagement, error tolerance, and ease of learning.
  • Evaluate the efficacy of START in supporting skill acquisition, technology adoption, and functional performance and participation in people with motor and/or visual impairments.
  • Pilot test the usefulness and effectiveness of START trainer’s modules.

Deliverables

  • Evidence on the effectiveness of universal design for learning (UPL)-guided training materials for smart speakers for people with disabilities.
  • A guide as to whether, and in what circumstances, 1-1 training improves outcomes for smart speaker use.

UPDATE (09/2024):  Now Recruiting Participants!

Short Course Development

Purpose

  • Help students and professionals gain knowledge on challenges people with varying disabilities face with accessing and using mainstream wireless technologies and develop skills to support these individuals to make full use of technology advancements.

Needs

  • Mainstream wireless technologies are not typically covered in traditional AT courses and training materials.
  • Students and professionals are usually not familiar with the challenges people with disabilities face with mainstream wireless technologies.

Activities

  • Develop a short online course Inclusive Smart Technology containing 8-12 modules based on our research and development projects. The course will introduce the basics of wireless technologies such as wireless networks and communication protocols, as well as how a variety of mainstream wireless technologies can be used to support health, independence, and participation of people with disabilities. The modules will cover topics such as challenges people with varying disabilities face with mainstream wireless technologies, funding and policy issues, mobile device/app accessibility, smart home platforms and devices, and smart speakers.
  • Engage students at different levels and from diverse disciplines in research opportunities through sponsoring summer internships, capstone research experience, and thesis projects.

Deliverables

  • An online course Inclusive Smart Technology through the SHSR Propel Portal.
  • Manuscripts, presentations, and posters from student researchers

UPDATE (07/2024):  Coursera Course Online!!

The goal of our Short Course Development Project is to help students and professionals develop skills to make full use of mainstream technology advancements. To that end, Dr. Dan Ding, Dr. Andrea Fairman, and Dr. Lindsey Morris have collaborated with the instructional design team at the University of Pittsburgh to create a new Coursera course entitled “Mainstream Smart Home Technology as Assistive Technology”.

Not sure what a Zigbe is? Why Matter matters? How Alexa and Siri understand your questions?  For those looking to understand the human activity assistive technology model, smart home hubs, cloud processing, occupational therapist technology evaluations, gadget tolerance, usability, and inclusion and so much more -- this is the course for you!   This five-week primer will help bring you up to speed in no time!  Enroll today!

Recent Presentations & Publications

2024
  • Ortiz, P., Gill, K.,Chung, C., Ding, D., Faieta, J. (2024). Smart Speakers and Skill Use: What Do We Know?  Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology. Aug 8:1-10. doi: 10.1080/17483107.2024.2387801  
  • Esquivel, P., Gill, K., Goldberg, M., Sundaram, S. A., Morris, L., & Ding, D. (2024). Voice assistant utilization among the disability community for independent living: A rapid review of recent evidence. Human Behavior and Emerging Technologie,2024(1),. https://doi.org/10.1155/2024/6494944 
  • Dicianno, B., Salh, A., Morris, L., Xiang, Y., & Ding D. (2024). Rehabilitation clinicians’ use of mainstream wireless technologies in practice: A scoping review. Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology. 1–19.  doi.org/10.1080/17483107.2024.2316891 
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