Inspiration
I was inspired to create PlayAid when I realized that I used the internet to distract myself, every time I was depressed or feeling low. I also realized that there was a big gap in the ability and availability of everyone to be easily able to use websites and technology. This is why PlayAid was created to bridge the gap in technology between those who are underprivileged and impaired. This helps people to easily deal with mental health issues by distracting themselves in fun and easy to use ways.
What it does
PlayAid is a place where people with certain disabilities such as visual imparity or speech disparity find repose. This is also designed for those who do not have enough resources to buy their own sources of entertainment. PlayAid works using three visual hand gesture tools to create, play and show emotions. The DRAW feature is for those children or adults who cannot buy crayons and coloring books to distract themselves in a motion driven online coloring feature. The EXPRESS feature is a tool for those who are visually impaired and mute, to express their emotions. If they are moving their hands very fast, the motion on the screen increases and this shows that they are angry or frustrated. The MUSIC tool is for the visually impaired and those who do not have enough resources to buy themselves musical instruments to indulge in making music for fun and free.
How I built it
I built PlayAid using Leap Motion hand sensor so that a person with any sort of impairment or disability will be able to easily use and navigate it. The website was coded using HTML 5, CSS using d3.js visualization libraries. I started with a single page website and then implemented the leap motion sensor using leap.js. https://debparna.github.io/PlayAid/
Challenges I ran into
Some of the challenges I ran into were integrating leap motion with javascript. After creating static pages using HTML and CSS I had to integrate d3.js with leap.js so that the hand movements would be mapped to the correct locations on the screen. I had to do a lot of trial and error before I correctly mapped the canvas size and coordinates .
Accomplishments that I'm proud of
I am proud that I was able to finish a four-page web page, learn a new motion sensor technology and integrate it with languages that I was already familiar with all by myself.
What I learned
I learned the many of applications of motion sensor technology and that it can be used to solve a mighty number of problems associated with people who are impaired or have some sort of disability. I also learned how to take interaction to the next level and integrate web development using sensor technologies.
What's next for PlayAid
The next thing for PlayAid would be to expand it to include many more features for people with different disabilities, disorders, and impairments (sight, hearing, speaking) so that one day everyone will easily be able to browse the internet without any difficulty, because in this age nobody can live without googling everyday, right?
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