University Place Retirement Community

EPICS - UPRC

Semester Plan Spring 2008

UPRC Team Leader: Aki Suzuki

UPRC Team Members: Mike McNamee, Christy Macak, Emily Patterson, George Behrens, Yang Wang, Xianda Yao

Storage Project Project Leader: Mike McNamee

Storage Project Team Members: Mike McNamee, Aki Suzuki, Yang Wang, Xianda Yao, George Behrens

Video Cart Problem Project Leader: Xianda Yao, Aki Suzuki (Temp)

Video Cart Problem Team Members: Xianda Yao, Aki Suzuki, Mike McNamee, Yang Wang, George Behrens

Improving Listening Environment (ILE) Project Leaders: Christy Macak, Emily Patterson

Improving Listening Environment Team Members: Christy Macak, Emily Patterson

University Place TV Team Members: George Behrens

UPRC Team Organization

Project Overview

Project Name / Start date / Current status
UPTV / Fall 2005 /
  • Audio design on hold
  • Primary goal this term – documentation

MPS(New Name) / Fall, 2007 /
  • Analyzing current needs / interests regarding storage on a wheelchair or walker and video cart

ILE / Spring 2006 /
  • Implementing solutions to Great Hall and Dining room
  • Developing resources and workshops

CC / Fall 2005 /
  • Completed

Storage Problem

Members: Mike McNamee, Aki Suzuki, Yang Wang, Xianda Yao, George Behrens

Problem Statement – Overview

Because of the limited number of group members, this semester we are going to focus on completing two short projects. One of the projects is “Storage”. We will work on is developing a solution so the residents are able to carry their belongings (mainly coffee cups, newspaper, and cane) on a wheelchair or walker. The residents have had problems trying to carrying their coffee mugs or newspaper because of lack of storage areas on their wheelchair or walker.

Status of Project:

  • The storage problem has been started in Fall of 2007 as part of the MSP project however, it is not enough to say that we are able to come up with a solution or solutions

For additional information on prior work go to under 2007 Fall End of Semester Report on SPS

UPRC  Semester Reports and Presentation  2007 Fall

A critical goal it setting up a focus group in order to have UPRC residents talk to us about exactly what types of problems we should focus on and background research

Proposed Tasks

Storage Problem – Goals:

  • We would like to be able to present URPC with ideas/solutions which can be place to solve the problem by the end of the year

Storage Problem – Activities:

  • Data Gathering

We are planning to go to UPRC during Week 5 to discuss the types of problems they are having, where in UPRC, has there been any potential solutions, and others to find out exactly what we would be needed for a solution

From this we will not only be able to focus our ideas, we will also be able tolearn steps we need to take in order to solve real life problems

Identify potential solutions that my already exist

  • General Solutions

After the discussion and figuring out our goals, we will move on to come up with potential solutions we will be able to present to UPRC which they will be able to figure out which solutions will work best in their case

  • Test a subset of Solutions

Upon coming up with possible solutions, we will be able to test them out with few residents to see which of the possible solutions will work the best

  • Improving and Implement

We will implement the solution by the end of this semester

Budget:

Spring 2008 Spending

Sample Materials / $60.00
Additional Expenses
Additional Sample Materials
Requests made by UPRC / $50.00
Total: / $110.00

Total Project Spending

Semester: Spring 2008 / $110.00
Goal for end of project / -
Total: / $110.00

Project Description

The Storage Project is a new project which will be a continual to the team MSP from Fall 2008 semester which consisted of “Mobility Project” and also a “Storage Project". Because the lack of people returning and coming in this semester, we have decided to focus on working on the storage issues discussed in the MSP project. However because the MSP project from last semester focused on the mobility issue at UPRC there are only few resources available for the storage issue this semester. Therefore, we are planning to have a focus group with the residents from UPRC to find out their needs in detail to come up with possible solutions to this problem.

Outcomes

We will design a storage system or solutions to where people will be able to place their personal belongings on the wheelchair or a walker without limiting their mobility. We will leave behind the designs and plans so new members or continuing members will be able to review those documents to help with problems they might face in the future.

Project Goals:

Storage

  • To present UPRC with a solution to the storage problem by the end of the semester

Work with University Play to determine what the residents need for storage

Develop a solution to the most common and wanted problem

Once an acceptable solution has been found, work to implement it at University Place

Depending on time in semester, find other storage problems for the residents

Repeat process for new storage problems in the future

  • For future semesters if this project is continues, keep working on storage problems

Additional Information regarding MSP Project

-For additional information on prior work go to 2007 Fall End of Semester Report on SPS

UPRC  Semester Reports and Presentation  2007 Fall or

UPRC  Project Design Processes and Technical Documentation  MSP

Video Cart Project

Members: Xianda Yao, Aki Suzuki, Mike McNamee, Yang Wang, George Behrens

Problem Statement – Overview

The second project we will work on is prototyping a “Video Cart” solution so that residents are able to have a video chat with their families.The solution of this project should be feasible and acceptable by the users and will be a solution that can be moved around within the complex.

Status of Project:

  • The video cart idea has been brought up but never has been worked by the team. For more information on prior work go to 2007 Fall Semester Plan on SPS

UPRC  Semester Reports and Presentation  2007 Fall

At week 3, in the lab, the whole team has a discussion about what we think the needs of the project partners and the potential problems

  • We discussed about feasibility, residents need, buy off the shelf, manual, how it works for all, technical support, etc.

Early work suggests we can prototype a solution this term

Proposed Tasks

Video Cart – Goals:

  • Prototype a video cart so that residents are able to have a video chat with their families

This will be a solution that can be moved around with in the complex

Video Cart – Activities:

  • Data Gathering
  • We will first talk to UPRC and see what their ideas, requests, and design limitations for the project are. This is a project they wanted so we will need to find out what their ideas for it are so we can determine the best solution
  • Then we will discuss and determine any other limitations or requirements for the project and brainstorm what we will need to make the project work
  • Generate Solutions
  • After determining what we will need, we can research available products and resources to generate potential solutions
  • Test Prototype Solution
  • We will present our project design to UPRC to make sure they are satisfied with the solution and that all of their criteria has been met
  • We will then test what resources it is possible for us to test before making the final product and make sure they work
  • Scale up Prototype
  • We will create an instruction manual for the potential users (project partners, their families, volunteer, staffs, etc.)
  • After that we can put the project together with the solutions we found, followed by testing in different situations to make sure it works how we expected
  • Implementation
  • Because we want to residents be able to make easy use of it, we will make sure the system is simplified enough where there won’t be problems
  • We hope to implement this solution by the end of the semester

Budget:

Spring 2008 Spending

Webcam x2 for testing / $160.00
Software / $60.00
Additional expenses
Headsets
Requests made by UPRC / $80.00
Total: / $300.00

Total Project Spending

Semester: Spring 2008 / $300.00
Goal for end of project / -
Total: / $300.00

Project Description

The ____ project, as part of UPRC team will focus on using each team member’s skills to develop a device which the residents will be able to use to talk and keep in touch with their family members and allow the residents to be informed on what other family members are doing. By having this device at University Place Retirement Community (UPRC), it will enhance the life of the residence by allowing them to be in contact with family members that might be living in another country or never get to see. We are planning on using products already out in the market and by combining those products come up with a device right for the use at UPRC.

Stakeholders

The residents, the staff, and family members will benefit from this project. The residents will be using this device to keep in touch with other family members. Because the residents might asked for assistance, staffs at UPRC might need to know how the device works and if there are problems, they know what to do. Also the family member is part of this because they themselves would have to get a webcam and other requirements if they want to be able to use this device.

Project Goals:

  • To present UPRC with a solution for residents to have video communication with their families by the end of the semester

Design with UPRC’s design limitations and requests for the project in mind

Come up with ideas for the video cart

Gather resources and test ideas to decide what solution will be best for UPRC

Gather final resources and put video cart together

Test and confirm effectiveness of video cart as well as make sure it meets UPRC’s needs

Design for simplicity and make instructions for staff at UPRC to ensure ease of use

Additional Information

-For additional information on thisProject, document are posed on SPS

UPRC Project Design Process and Technical DocumentationVideo Cart

Improving Listening Environments (ILE) Project

Members:Christy Macak and Emily Patterson (Co-Team Leaders)

Status of Project:

  1. Great Room / Educational Room: The Great room and Educational room speakers were connected to the white speakers in the room with the use of a portable amplifier. Thus far, the feedback from UP residents has been good. Recommendations were made on a complete revamping of the speaker system in addition to adding two new speakers.
  2. Dining Room: The data and reports for the dining room have been reviewed. The power point presentation that was presented last semester will be presented to the Dining Committee on January 29 or January 30, 2008. From there, UPRC will decide which proposed solutions they would like to implement. Also, a 30-day trial with an assistive listening device (ALD) which will be a table-top FM system will be implemented in the Dining Room provided residents are interested. (See Budget to request samples)
  3. Assisted Living/Skilled Nursing: No project has been started at this point

Proposed Goals:

  1. Great Room / Educational Room
  2. Review the Sony SRP-X700P Manager user control manual to determine if we can change some of the default settings to benefit the residents.
  3. Prepare staff training materials for furniture arrangements.
  4. Work with Professor Lindenlaub to make connections from the computer to the sound system.
  5. Provide the residents with a “Good Communication Strategies” workshop towards the end of the semester.
  6. Dining Room
  7. The power point presentation will be revamped to appeal to the Dining Committee
  8. The presentation will be presented in late January and from there, accepted solutions will be implemented at UPRC.
  9. One table-top FM system will be set up in the Dining Room as a pilot study for 30 days for the residents to try and determine benefit.
  10. A survey will be developed and passed out to the residents to see what areas the residents are experiencing difficulty.

3.Assisted Living/Skilled Nursing

  1. A meeting will be set up with Assisted Living/Skilled Nursing to explore the options
  2. For new projects designed to utilize the talents of future Audiology graduate students.

Budget:

ILE (Improving Listening Environments)
Description & Justification / Fall 2006 Predicted Expenses / Fall 2006 Actual Expenses / Spring 2007 Predicted Expenses / Spring 2007 Actual Expenses / Total Predicted Expenses / Total Actual Expenses / Funds from Other Resources
2.1 / Acoustic Absorption Materials / $500 / $0 / $500.00 / $0.00 / $0.00
2.2 / Wiring Supplies / $200 / $0 / $200.00 / $0.00 / $0.00
2.3 / Oticon Amigo T10 transmitter / $900 / $900.00 / $0.00 / $0.00
2.4 / Oticon Amigo R5 Recievers (2) / $1,025 / $1,025.00 / $0.00 / $0.00
2.5 / $0.00 / $0.00 / $0.00
2.6 / $0.00 / $0.00 / $0.00
2.7 / $0.00 / $0.00 / $0.00
2.8 / $0.00 / $0.00 / $0.00
2.9 / $0.00 / $0.00 / $0.00
2.10 / $0.00 / $0.00 / $0.00
TOTAL / $2,825.00 / $0.00 / $0.00

Timeline:

Week
Week / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 13 / 14 / 15 / 16
Dining Room and Great Room
Review noise measurements
Review proposed changes
Contact companies regarding ALDs
Assess need for ILE in assisted living area
Present proposal to Dining Committee
Research communication strategies for workshop
Set goals of project
Implement ALDs in the Dining Room and Great Room
Put together rough draft of communication workshop
Assess feasibility of costs
Put together survey for residents
Pass out survey to residents
Assess how ALDs are working
Put together final draft of communication workshop
Present communication workshop at UPRC
Wrap up and unfinished tasks

University Place TV Project

Members: George Behrens

Problem Statement:

The UPTV project is not currently documented in a manner that would allow for someone who is inexperienced or unfamiliar with the various system components to act as system administrator. The UPTV documentation project will seek to produce an administrator’s guide for running and maintaining or troubleshooting the system, and to reorganize the current technical documentation.

Status of Project:

The project is on hold (design/building) this semester and our focus this semester isto outline a rough draft for the administrator’s manual, collecting information from the current documentation, and familiarizing myself with Microsoft Office’s PowerPoint and Window’s system scheduler.

Proposed Goals:

Deliver a completed administrator’s manual, reorganize technical documentation (especially regarding the hardware), and conduct usability testing with a completed draft of the administrator’s manual.

Timeline:

Technical documentation will most likely be reorganized as the semester progresses naturally as I draft the admin manual. This is also subject to change as work in other projects may interfere.

UPTV History

Overview

UPTV is a closed-circuit TV network system that broadcasts power-point slideshows which display daily activities and weekly agendas for UPRC residents. The aim of this project is to help make the UPTV system easier to use for the UPRC staff. A duplicate of the UPTV system called the development system is in place at Epics lab in Armstrong building. The development system is for testing and troubleshooting any new additions or ideas for the UPTV system.

The project has existed since 2005 and is currently in use at UPRC. The aim of this project has shifted towards improving various parts of UPTV system for efficiency, simplicity, and maintenance. UPTV divides up into two general categories: hardware and software. Hardware means physical circuit such as multiplexers, switchers, etc. Software is currently power point but the team has been working towards making power point more efficient and finding alternative software that may better serve staff at UPRC.

Status of Project
As mentioned before, UPTV is currently in improvement phase. To make the “next generation” UPTV system, this semester specifically deals with the audio switcher circuit or multiplexer. UPRC currently uses manual switches for both audio and video. The goal is to replace them with new switchers that have more features such as automated switching and volume control. Thus far:

  1. The development system has been fully assembled again after moving into new Armstrong building. Documents regarding UPTV and reference manuals were added to development both in paper and electronic format.
  2. In preparation for designing switcher circuit, new data on UPTV system were measured at UPRC. Data is stored on Share Point Server (SPS) under Project Design Process and Technical Documentation /UPTV/SignalMeasurement
  3. Conceptual circuit design and detailed design with a parts list were also done. Stored under SPS Project Design Process and Technical Documentation /UPTV/Switcher Hardware
  4. On the software side, slideshow narration software, Camtasia has been recommended to UPRC. See report on SPS Project Design Process and Technical Documentation /UPTV/NarrationSoftwareDescription

Additional Information regarding UPTV Project

-For additional information on prior work goto2006 Spring, 2007 Fall End of Semester Report on SPS

UPRC  Semester Reports and Presentation 2007 Spring, 2007 Fall or

UPRC  Project Design Processes and Technical Documentation  UPTV

Computer Coaching (CC) Project

Members: None

Project Completed at the end of Fall 2007

Past Project Information

Overview

The CC Project was completed at the end of the Fall 2008 semester. The goal of Computer Coaching is to provide the residents of University Place Retirement Center basic computer assistance through coaching. Computer Coaching works by having groups of volunteers going to UPRC once per week to coach the residents, who have problems with their computers.

There are four steps for the design of this project. The first part is to recruit volunteers. Secondly, the team has to plan out an orientation to train the volunteers. During that time, volunteers will be put into groups and will schedule a weekly time to coach the residents. The third part is when the volunteers start going to UPRC to coach for about six weeks. Lastly, the project will be finished with the feedback from the residents and the volunteers. Although providing computer coaching at UPRC is the main goal, the other purpose of this project is to observe how the residents use the computers to develop best teaching methods.