Lieutenant Governor opens EDGE Lab research and construction space led by Digital Media Zone research team

The Honourable David C. Onley, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario (front and centre), cuts the ceremonial ribbon at the opening of Ryerson University's Adaptive Design Studio, a new production space for customized, affordable adaptations and communication tools for children with disabilities. He is surrounded by a group of people with a real vested interest in the new lab: (L-R) Ryerson Provost Alan Shepard, parents Glenn Ross and Genevieve Kilman, Principal Investigator Dimitri Androutsos, researchers Ourania Xanthopoulos and Alison Gaston with "research partner" three-year-old Zoe, Lab Director Jason Nolan, researcher Sarah Tan and Ryerson President Sheldon Levy.

To you, cardboard may just be something that is used and then discarded, but to Ryerson University professor Jason Nolan it can be transformed into an affordable adaptation for a child with a disability… and for a child with a disability, a tool that increases her independence and help her make friends. Nolan’s research team, the Experiential Design and Gaming Environments (EDGE) Lab, is pioneering research on the design and teaching of adaptive techniques for children with disabilities using cardboard and DIY electronics at Ryerson’s Digital Media Zone (DMZ). Now thanks to Ryerson’s new Adaptive Design Studio, officially opened by special guest the Honourable David C. Onley, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, people around the world may begin to see this disposable packaging as a powerful tool to help people with disabilities live more independent lives.

Based in the DMZ, the EDGE Lab integrates new and existing technologies and designs, working primarily with cardboard and DIY electronics, to create customized, affordable adaptations and communication tools for children with a variety of physical, communication and sensory challenges. Taking an entrepreneurial approach, their objective is to teach the principles and methods behind these designs so that the pieces can be reproduced by anyone anywhere in the world. The faculty, recent grads and students’ current work focuses on design for children with disabilities (the team is grounded in Ryerson’s Early Childhood Education program), but the concepts apply to any groups with limited mobility, including possible applications for an aging population.

"All of the research under way at the EDGE Lab is focused upon on a simple principle: accessibility,” said Sheldon Levy, Ryerson University President, who was also on-hand for the opening event. "At Ryerson, we are committed to bringing new learning opportunities and tools within reach to all inquiring minds. In this regard, this new Adaptive Design Studio works small miracles every day- often with nothing more than cardboard and creativity.”

The EDGE Lab has worked extensively with Zoe, a three-and-a-half-year-old who was born with a chromosomal defect that slowed her developmental skills. Unable to sit or walk on her own, Zoe had difficulty interacting with her peers and joining her nursery mates in activities. Using the adaptive design equipment for the past year, including a special seat and computer desk, she has made impressive progress. The equipment has helped develop her core and muscle endurance, increased her mobility and improved her arm strength, making it possible for her to play with other children. The autonomy it has given her has also caused other children to see her as one of them and opened the lines of communications by removing barriers to interaction, allowing friendships to blossom.
“These simple devices take people who are usually on the outskirts and bring them in by allowing them to be seen as real people through communication,” said Nolan. “With this new Adaptive Design Studio we’re building capacity rather than product. One group can only build so many products, but by empowering people to make their own – whether that’s a cottage industry, a non-profit, or someone making something for their own child – the impact is exponential.”

The team’s work at the Digital Media Zone focuses on adding electronics, soft circuits and digital media into designs and ideas adapted from the Adaptive Design Association in New York City, where Nolan serves on the advisory board. Specifically, they are developing accessible keyboards with soft circuits in cardboard or in fabric squeezable “keys” which create letters for children who don’t have the fine motor skills to press conventional keys. Continuing their theme of using components that are easily and affordably sourced, the EDGE Lab powers its electronic components with discarded computers, turning them into the power supply to run virtually everything.
Over the summer, Nolan plans to develop a course to teach adaptive design at the university level, as well as workshops to teach basic skills, including how to collaborate with occupational therapists/doctors/nurses, how to do the design, how to cost it, etc. Short-term goals include launching how-to videos people can download and learn from, while the long-term goal is to offer a certificate or minor in Adaptive Design at Ryerson.

Opened in April 2010, Ryerson University’s Digital Media Zone (DMZ) is a multidisciplinary workspace for young entrepreneurs infused with the energy and resources of downtown Toronto. Set atop Yonge-Dundas Square, this hub of digital media innovation, collaboration and commercialization is home to both entrepreneurial startups and industry solution-providers. With access to overhead and business services, students and alumni can fast-track their product launches, stimulating Canada’s emerging digital economy through spending and job creation. In its first year of operations, the DMZ helped more than 110 innovators to incubate and accelerate 24 startups and to launch 49 projects. For more information on the DMZ, visit www.ryerson.ca/dmz.

Ryerson University is Canada's leader in innovative, career-oriented education and a university clearly on the move. With a mission to serve societal need, and a long-standing commitment to engaging its community, Ryerson offers close to 100 undergraduate and graduate programs. Distinctly urban, culturally diverse and inclusive, the university is home to 28,000 students, including 2,000 master's and PhD students, nearly 2,700 tenured and tenure-track faculty and staff, and more than 130,000 alumni worldwide. Research at Ryerson is on a trajectory of success and growth: externally funded research has doubled in the past four years. The G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education is Canada's leading provider of university-based adult education. For more information, visit www.ryerson.ca. 

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