Canadian researchers have developed an add-on that makes iPods easy to use for people with disabilities.
Called the CanPlay podWiz, it lets users control off-the-shelf Apple iPod Nanos by using knuckles, jaw muscles and voice prompts. It’s a black box with a microcomputer that acts as a switcher for external commands that are delivered through a range of means and can be wheelchair mounted. (Unfortunately, there don’t seem to be any pics available).
It’s the brainchild of CanAssist, a research lab at the University of Victoria, which has also developed a host of cool ideas from the Polecam Power Chair and to a launcher that wheelchair users can throw balls to their dogs with.
125 CanPlay podWizzes will be given to young Canadians this Christmas, but director Neil Livingston says he’s in touch with Apple to make the product commercially available through its distribution network. No word on how much it might cost.
Via Globe and Mail
Nicole Martinelli is a San Francisco freelance writer who heads up Cult of Mac Magazine, our weekly publication available on iTunes. You can find her on Twitter and Google+. If you’re doing something new, cool and Apple-related, email her.
