It’s always amazing to me how I learn about new things, and meet new people. I stumbled upon a great site through the course of some general surfing around last week – the National University of Singapore, and I noticed that they have an initiative spearheaded by the NUS Entrepreneurship Centre called InnoAge – where among other things their projects include assistive technologies – (a generic term that includes assistive, adaptive, and rehabilitative devices for people with disabilities, including the elderly).
I had a question about the NUS Entrepreneurship Centre, and e-mailed David Lim – the Associate Director for the Centre. David is truly a delightful fellow – we have had a really nice e-mail conversation – I had mentioned to him that when I was a kid, I had a pen-pal from Singapore, and actually learned quite a bit about the country. David really encouraged me to visit Singapore (my wife and I keep talking about taking some trips in the next few years) and it sounds like Singapore is really evolving into a wonderful place to spend some time, and then “hop off to the rest of Asia” as David put it. David says that some people call it “Little Red Dot” because of Singapore’s flag.
I spent some time today looking at some of the incredible projects the Centre is working on – like a “Haptic Knob: A Robotic Device For Rehabilitation After Stroke” or a “Augmented reality-based virtual keyboard for Elderly & Disabled.”
Truly amazing stuff. I really encourage anyone interested in assistive technologies, or anyone who works with the disabled or elderly to check out the Centre – they’re really onto some great stuff. I wish them the best of luck in all of their future endeavors!
