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Image of Wheelchair Vendor Lecturing on Different Wheelchair Cushions

Image of Students Trying Different Wheelchairs at the Mobility Symposium

Jan 4, 2024

Over 1 Million Dollars in Grants Received

In the Rehabilitation Research Design and Disability Center (R2D2) Dr. Roger O. Smith has received 2 grants. The first grant is a grant for building accessibility in the community which started September of 2023 and goes until September of 2028...

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Nov 9, 2022

Exciting Recent Research Highlighted at ACRM Conference

We are excited to have Mason Drake, a doctoral graduate student at R2D2, present at the annual conference for the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine (ACRM)! He will be presenting: “An Exploratory Study Investigating the Accuracy of Sound Measurements in iOS...

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Jul 25, 2022

Launch of the R₂D₂ Registry

The R₂D₂ Center has launched a contact list registry of individuals who would like to participate in R₂D₂’s future research on community accessibility, universal design, home accessibility, and other disability-related topics. The registry simply asks individuals to add their contact...

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May 2, 2022

AccessRuler, AccessSlope, AccessSound MiniTools now available in Apple App Store

The Rehabilitation Research Design and Disability Center (R₂D₂) Center has collaborated with the UBICOMP Lab at Marquette University to release the MiniTools apps to the Apple App Store. These apps are AccessRuler, AccessSlope and AccessSound, which are all part of...

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May 2, 2022

MED-AUDIT: Rising from The Ashes

The MED-AUDIT project began in the mid-2000s with the aim to develop an objective rating system for the assessment of medical devices and equipment accessibility. After several years of successful research and development, accompanied by many publications and presentations in...

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Jan 27, 2022

MyPath Project Launches

The MyPath project is a new R₂D₂ Center project funded as a federal sub-award project in partnership with the University of Maryland Baltimore County and the University of Miami. The primary goal of the project is to create a mobile...

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Jul 21, 2021

R₂D₂ Presentations at OT Summit and RESNA Summer Conferences

staff and collaborators presented at the 9th Annual OT Summit of Scholars on June 23-25. This year’s conference was be held virtually and brought OT scholars together to share research, exchange ideas, and help move the science of occupational therapy forward. Our team...

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Jul 7, 2021

Students Help Make New Rehab Engineering Textbook Accessible

Dr. Roger Smith and Dr. Alex Mihailidis are the co-editors of a new rehab engineering textbook, titled “Fundamentals of Anatomy and Physiology for Rehabilitation Engineers and Assistive Technology Specialists”. The textbook features the history of rehab engineering and introduces the...

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Jun 20, 2021

New R₂D₂ Site Update Goes Live!

Over the course of a year of development, the R₂D₂ team created a new website showcasing the Center’s present and past projects work dating back to 1996. The website provides access to the R₂D₂ Center’s About Us, Methods, Projects, Publications...

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Jun 18, 2021

Mini Apps Available in Apple App Store

The year of 2020 marked the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which outlawed discrimination based on disability. In celebration of this monumental achievement, the Research Rehabilitation Disability and Design (R₂D₂) Center has released the first version of the AccessRatings for Buildings MiniTools apps, which measure the accessibility of public buildings based on noise...

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Jun 18, 2021

ARB Continues to Build its Suite with AccessPlace and AccessTools

The AccessRatings for Buildings project consists of two primary projects: AccessPlace and AccessTools. As the project continues to evolve from its initial conception, the newest development is the creation of two exciting applications for the project. The AccessPlace application relies aims to create a public accessibility database based on consumer feedback that enables individuals with disabilities to post personalized accessibility reviews...

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Jun 4, 2021

ITIP2 Students Participate in Mobility Technology Day

On April 21st, 2021, UWM occupational therapy (OT) students took part in Mobility Technology Day. National Seating Mobility, a mobility technology supplier, brought in equipment such as powered wheelchairs for master’s students to test and gain hands-on exposure to broaden their knowledge of mobility equipment available on the market. Although the COVID-19 pandemic has...

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Jun 4, 2021

HESTIA Team Rolls Out Plans for New Apps

The HESTIA project began in 2014 as a multi-faceted assessment, designed to identify problems in the home environment that could be impede a person’s ability to successfully live independently. In 2020, the HESTIA project was awarded NIDILRR DRPP funding to continue with the next steps in expanding the project. The initial development...

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Jun 1, 2021

Summer 2021 R₂D₂ Staff Changes

Kassandra Bauman: Kassandra is a 2019 MSOT grad student and has worked at the R₂D₂ Center for two years. She has assisted in ARB project (testing, taxonomy, community engagement) as well assisting in with the Biomedical Engineering Textbook. Kassandra has worked...

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May 15, 2021

Undergraduate Research Project Focuses on Personalizing AccessTools

Four Support for Undergraduate Research Fellows (SURF) students have been working on two projects as a part of the larger AccessRatings for Buildings (ARB) project. AccessTools and AccessPlace are apps aimed at increasing awareness of building accessibility (e.g., accessible bathrooms)...

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Mar 14, 2021

MED-AUDIT Relaunches with National Science Foundation I-Corps Program

The Rehabilitation Research Design and Disability Center () at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Columbia University collaborated to develop the Medical Equipment Device-Accessibility and Universal Design Information Tool (MED-AUDIT). MED-AUDIT is, an innovative and novel measurement strategy that evaluates and...

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Dec 15, 2020

Undergraduate Research Projects in 2020

Support for Undergraduate Research Fellows (SURF) students have been working on two projects as a part of the larger AccessRatings for Buildings (ARB) project. AccessTools and AccessPlace are apps aimed at increasing awareness of building accessibility (e.g., accessible bathrooms) in...

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Oct 14, 2020

MSOT Students Complete AccessRatings Research Projects Online

Every year, teams of Master’s of Occupational Therapy (MSOT) students at UW-Milwaukee work with a faculty member on a research area of interest. In 2020 two MSOT teams completed their research projects through the R₂D₂ Center, with the teams being...

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