The
National Veterans Wheelchair Games were started in 1981 by the Department
of Veteran’s Affairs (VA). The VA and Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA)
have co-sponsored the games, which has become the largest annual
wheelchair sporting event in the country, since 1985. The goal of the
games is to introduce veterans with disabilities to a variety of
wheelchair sports as well as provide competition for experienced veteran
wheelchair athletes. The annual competition lasts a week and incorporates
over 15 events, including archery, track and field, swimming,
weightlifting, basketball, and quad rugby.The Human Engineering Research Laboratories has been a part of the Games almost every year. Dr. Rory Cooper, director of HERL, has competed in the games since 1983 and has won well over 100 medals. Dr. Cooper and HERL helped to host the 1998 NVWG in Pittsburgh. In 2000, Dr. Cooper brought some of his staff and researchers to the Games in San Antonio to bring HERL research to the veterans. Projects such as the GAMECycle were popular among the wheelchair athletes and HERL was invited back. Ever since, HERL has organized a team of students and faculty to participate in the annual National Veterans Wheelchair Games. Our presence at the games helps us to interact with and serve our veterans who use wheelchairs. The event also gives us the opportunity to disseminate the results of our research, educate wheelchair users on the work we do, and recruit people who use wheelchairs and who live outside of Pittsburgh to participate in our research studies.
FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of
Science and Technology) Lego League is an annual robotics competition
designed to stimulate an interest in technical projects for children of
middle school age. Team members work alongside engineers and technicians
to design a programmable “robot” built from Lego and controlled by a
small computer from the “Lego Mindstorm” building kit. Children not
only learn the engineering design process, but also learn about
programming and project management as well. The FIRST organization designs
a competitive game each year. The teams then build and program robots to
accomplish the given tasks within a limited time period. Competitions are
held in late November/ early December. We have participated in Lego-League
since 2002 in conjunction with a group from Carnegie Mellon University to stage
regional competitions. We also actively recruit children with disabilities
for our team, one of the few, if not the only team to do so. Our goal is
to encourage all children, but especially those with disabilities, to take
an interest in technology and how it impacts our world.
FIRST, or For Inspiration and
Recognition of Science and Technology, is a national
robotics competition that integrates the talents of High Schools,
Universities and Corporations. For over 10 years, FIRST has provided opportunities for high school students to work alongside
engineers to design and build a competitive robot in a mere six weeks.
Each year in January, the FIRST organization unveils a new game. Each of
the nearly 500 teams then has six weeks to design and build a robot to
compete in the game. There are weight and size restrictions for the robot
as well as limitations on materials and components. There are a number of
regional competitions throughout the United States during March. The
National competition is held each year at Epcot Center in Florida.
The Human Engineering Research Laboratories
(HERL) sponsored the “Pitt Crew” from 1997-2001. Working with
Steel Center Area Vocational Technical School as well as