Workshop for visually challenged concludes

Jubilee Hills: The LVPEI Center for Innovation and MIT (Massachusetts) in sponsorship from MIT-India (Massachusetts) and L V Prasad Eye Institute (Hyderabad) hosted a three-day workshop on ‘Humanistic Co-Design for the Visually Impaired,’ which concluded here on Sunday.

The workshop provided a platform for design and engineering students to directly collaborate with people who have visual disabilities, examine their problems and identify solutions. Humanistic Co-design nurtures the thought of including the motivations of the user while building solutions for them. The process begins through holistic connections with people without a design/engineering agenda and concrete designs reveal themselves through intrinsic humanity and the desire to be of service.

“The LVPEI Center for Innovation has been home to many innovations in the areas of eye care delivery, biology of the eye, surgical techniques, eye banking and children's eye health among others over the years. LVPEI provided a platform for young minds to see their innovations from prototype to product through this workshop, and we saw an amazing range of possibilities,” said Raghu Gullapalli, Executive Director, Emerging Technologies and Business Development, LVPEI Center for Innovation.

During the workshop, participants worked with focus groups, rehabilitation experts and professionals from various domains to ideate and rapid prototype. The participants were mentored by Dr Kyle Keane, research scientist from MIT, who specializes in computational materials science, human-centered design, and engineering technology that helps people with disabilities, along with Dr. Beula Christy, Head of Centre for Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired at LVPEI.