Georgia Tech and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign awarded 5 year, $4.6 million grant from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation (NIDILRR) for the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Technologies to Support Aging-in-Place for People with Long-Term Disabilities. The grant represents the second phase of RERC TechSAge, with continued collaboration from co-directors Jon Sanford and Tracy Mitzner at Georgia Tech, and Wendy Rogers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Read the full story here in link below. Picture: TechSAge team members at Georgia Tech and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign gather for team photos at their respective sites.

The TechSAge Design Competition chose Judy Kong from the California College of the Arts as the winner with her entry named "Stand." Stand is a cane with a compressible mechanism designed to assist older adults in sitting and standing. Learn more about the design, and the inspiration behind it, in the news story link below.

Members of the TechSAge team convened in St. Petersburg, Florida for the 2018 International Society for Gerontechnology conference. The TechSAge symposium, "Technology Design for Aging with Disability", highlighted new advances with research, development & training projects. Presenters pictured here (left to right): Laura Levy, Wendy Rogers, Maurita Harris, Jon Sanford, and Charles Consel (Discussant).

MS Assistant is a health and wellness self-management app that assists individuals aging with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). This evidence-based app helps users track their symptoms and share health data with providers. In addition, users can connect with other people who have MS, play games to improve cognition and balance, and stay informed with relevant educational resources. MS Assistant was developed by Ljilja Ruzic Kascak, a PhD student in Industrial Design, who was awarded a mobile application seed grant from TechSAge.

Collaborating with Henry Evans, a stroke survivor with quadriplegia, researchers on the Mobile Manipulator Robot project continue to expand capabilities of the PR2 robot to assist with everyday tasks, like shaving. The team has also developed and installed a robotic bed in his home designed to assist with body positioning.