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Hands-On Measurement and Instrumentation Course Accessibility for Visually Impaired Students

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Conference

2024 ASEE PSW Conference

Location

Las Vegas, Nevada

Publication Date

April 18, 2024

Start Date

April 18, 2024

End Date

April 20, 2024

Page Count

19

DOI

10.18260/1-2--46044

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/46044

Download Count

60

Paper Authors

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Matthew Levi Giles University of Southern California

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Matthew Giles is a PhD Student in the Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering Department at the University of Southern California. His research interests include applied mathematics and analytical methods, with a particular emphasis on control systems and the application of evolutionary game theory in engineering settings. For this paper, he was responsible for developing the tactile oscilloscope used in extending visually-impaired access to a hands-on measurement and instrumentation course within the department.

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Joy Uehara University of Southern California

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Haylee Mota University of Southern California

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Emma Katharine Singer USC Viterbi School of Engineering Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0002-3457-9511

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Matthew R Gilpin University of Southern California

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Dr. Gilpin teaches upper division laboratory courses in the Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering department at USC’s Viterbi School of Engineering and has been involved in laboratory instruction at USC for over a decade. He is also the faculty advisor to USC’s Recumbent Vehicle Design Team (RVDT) and the USC Advanced Spacecraft and Propulsion and Energy Laboratory (ASPEN). In addition to teaching, Dr. Gilpin is the PI for the In-Space Propulsion Research (InSPR) Laboratory at USC and has been conducting collaborative research with the Air Force Research Laboratory for over 15 years.

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Akshay Potnuru

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Jessica Aftosmis University of Southern California

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Abstract

The Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering Department at USC has adapted our hands-on “Mechoptronics” laboratory course for visually impaired students. This was accomplished through the creation of new accessibility tools and by adapting core parts of the laboratory experience away from non-accessible software such as LabView in favor of accessible software such as MATLAB. The objective of this project was to maintain the laboratory experience and allow for active learning and the moments of discovery in the laboratory which are essential to practical education. The first half of USC’s Mechoptronics course is teaching measurement and instrumentation and this was facilitated through the in-house creation of a “Tactile Oscilloscope.” This accessibility device used the Orbit Grafiti tactile display as an output for a standard laboratory oscilloscope. These two devices were bridged with custom MATLAB software allowing for the student use of controls and inputs on the standard oscilloscope while using the tactile display for signal output and auditory output for oscilloscope settings and measurements. The second half of Mechoptronics is focused on automation and control. This half of the course was adapted to use MATLAB scripting enabling the use of standard National Instruments hardware without relying on LabView’s visual programming language. The accessible curriculum recently developed at USC can serve as a roadmap for other schools working to adapt hands-on laboratory courses for the visually impaired. Furthermore, the development of our accessible curriculum has highlighted accessibility gaps present in commercial measurement and automation tools which will require additional customization and collaboration with commercial entities in the future.

Giles, M. L., & Uehara, J., & Mota, H., & Singer, E. K., & Gilpin, M. R., & Potnuru, A., & Aftosmis, J. (2024, April), Hands-On Measurement and Instrumentation Course Accessibility for Visually Impaired Students Paper presented at 2024 ASEE PSW Conference, Las Vegas, Nevada. 10.18260/1-2--46044

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