Senior Design Projects to Aid the Disabled at the University of Toledo: Community Outreach and Impact

This paper describes the community involvement and the impact that the Department of Mechanical, Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering (MIME) at the University of Toledo (UT) has accomplished during the past six years with its senior students in developing custom devices for physically disabled individuals within the Toledo community. These projects assist disabled individuals to better enjoy life and realize their maximum potential. These projects significantly enhance the education of student engineers through the experience of designing and building devices to meet a real need with feedback on how well the device satisfies that need.