Grand Valley State University last week unveiled two new innovative products, both of which were developed by students.
One of the products is a new, low cost video magnifier, a tool that enables visually impaired people to read, write, view pictures, and perform other common tasks. The newer version of the instrument is projected to cost between five and six hundred dollars, as opposed to more than one thousand dollars.
The product is the result of a partnership between students in Grand Valley's engineering program and the Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired, which estimates that one in six people over the age of 65, and one in four people over age 75, have dramatic visual impairments that surgery and eyeglasses cannot fully correct.
The second product was designed to help gardeners select plants that will thrive in a certain areas of the garden or around the house. The Sunspot measures sunlight, moisture content, and soil temperature of a plant’s surroundings and enables the home gardener to appropriately place and care for their plants.
The Sunspot also comes complete with a USB link that allows the user to view and manipulate data on the computer. It was designed by engineering students David Godfrey, Dan Parker, Steve Palasek, and Erynne Ligeski.
Source: Grand Valley State University
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