This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop a standard method of providing computer access to people with physical disabilities. In recent years the use of personal computers in education has increased dramatically. Because many people with physical disabilities are not able to use a keyboard or a mouse, it is difficult to provide them with equal access to this education. A variety of devices have been developed which provide an alternate means of controlling computers but their usefulness is seriously compromised by the lack of a standard method of providing computer control. The recent introduction of the PCMCIA bus, a technology which uses credit card sized interface devices, provides an opportunity to standardize computer access for people with disabilities. This project will develop software interfaces which will allow personal computers to be controlled through the PCMCIA bus. A family of interface devices will also be developed. The design characteristics of the software will be documented in an open standard which will be provided to both the computer industry and manufacturers of assistive technology.
