Disabled Access at Incheon

Airports are public buildings that are meant to support various people. Therefore, it is crucial for the grandiose structures to have facilities specifically designed to support those with disabilities, either mental or physical. Incheon Airport, Korea's largest airport, and the most successful airport in the world, has decided to have a separate check-in counter for domestic airlines reserved just for disabilities to use to their ease. Therefore, they can have access to special kiosks or friendly staff members who are ready to help handicaps.

Not only is there a separate counter, there is also a special lounge for these disabled customers. The facilities inside the lounge are fine-tuned to match the needs of dsabilities. Officials expect about seventy customers in the first month or so.

April 20, National Day for People with Disabilities

April 20, 2011 was one of the most important days in the Korean calendar. It marked the annual national day for people with disabilities. Only recently did the Korean national government recognized disabled people as regular citizens. Before, these people were given less rights and strict policies were enforced upon these unfortunate people.

In 1981 the United Nations proposed that every member country create a special national day for those with disabilities. However, the national day in Korea was enforced ten years after the proposition, in 1991. Originally, the national association of disabilities voted December 3 as date for the national disability day. Unfortunately, the Korean national government forcibly changed the date to April 20 after some conflicts. Therefore, many disabilities in Korea believe quietly in their hearts that the true national day is December 3, not April 20.

However, this does not mean that all Koreans are unhappy about the national day for disabilities. Instead, many citizens, both with and without disabilities still celebrate the day with vigor. One great example this year was when the Korean Broadcasting System (KBS), the largest broadcasting company in Korea, decided to hire a great number of reporters with disabilities. They will be part of a special squad newly created this year to accommodate workers with disabilities. They will be specially trained and, within a year, will be just as successful as regular reporters.

Another remarkable event was when a father, who is active in Christian activities in Korea, and his son, who has a developmental disability, walked a 40-day, 600-km walk from March 12 to March 20. They walked 15 km a day to raise awareness about the plight of disabled Korean citizens from the Southern city port of Busan to the capital in the North, Seoul.

April 20 is an important day in Korea for disabilities and normal people because it represents our acknowledgement of disabilities as normal human beings rather than lowly creatures.

Smart phone + Smart Walker

In my previous post, I mentioned that the Smart Walker was a very effective tool for handicaps to walk around. In addition to being extremely helpful, it also provides the most bang-for-the-buck for any wheelchair-like vehicle. However, like all wheelchairs, the Smart Walker needs many more improvements. This product lacks the tools to help handicaps when they are doing something else rather than walking around. Adding a smartphone or a similar device would definitely help any handicap for the entire day.

There are some necessary applications the device must have in order for it to be truly helpful. The first one is a clock that needs to have several functions, including telling the handicap when to eat, when to take their medicine, and to have a daily schedule configured just for the patient. Another application that is crucial is a tiny GPS. This app can help both the patient and his/her family members. When a handicap is lost, one can find their way by using this GPS. When family members are searching for a handicap, they can locate him/her with the GPS sensor.

IPad Opens World to a Disabled Boy

Owen Cain, a disabled child who had a debilitating nerual disease baffled his parents, who tried to open him up to a world of education full of brilliant opportunities. Unfortuntately, Owen could not respond to any of the technology his parents presented to him. However, when the nurse left her boyfriend's ipad next to Owen's wheel-chair, everybody was surprised to see Owen playing guitar hero on the device when they came back. Due to the mobility, easy user interface, and sensitive touchscreen allows disabilities to easily have easy access to the rest of the world through the ipad. Many therapeutists recommend patients to use the ipad for its relatively cheap price and best bang for the buck.

However, despite its bang for the buck, families who do not have a steady source cannot afford to buy any sort of technology. In the modern world, up-to-date technologies, such as the ipad are the only way for handicaps to access the rest of society. Unfortuntately, medical insurance companies do not seem to offer advanced technological gear, including the ipad, to families who do seriously need them but do not have the money to buy them separately.

Thanks to the ipad, Owen has been making astronomical progress in the last few months. Already, he has started to laugh by reading simple picture books and comics throught he ipad. Now, after watching many episodes of Star Wars, he is a great advocate of the movie series. On the day before Halloween, Owen wrote to his parents that he wished to be Han Solo of Star Wars the next day.



from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/31/nyregion/31owen.html?ref=handicapped

SMART Walker

In my previous post, I have mentioned that wheelchairs must be made of convetional technologies while also being innovative. This "dream" wheelchair has come out: the SMART Walker. It is not exactly a wheelchair since there is no place for a patient to sit. However, it does the same role as a wheelchair, moving a patient around comfortably.

The SMART Walker is designed to help patients with paralysis or brain damage walk around. The good parts of this wheel chair is that it is quite simple to use, relatively light, and most importantly, it has the highest performance to price ratio compared to other products such as the iBot.



To begin with, a patient's feet are inserted on two platforms that are attached to a long handle. This connection help handicaps to maintain their balance while they are walking. The shoe on the two platforms are made by Piedro footwear, which provides extra comfort and sensitivity to the handicap. In addition, the tool is supported by four wheels that let the patient on the Walker to move more smoothly.

I hope that the National Rehabilitation Center would consider using this equipment. While being quite cheap, it is also very effective, teaching young disabilities to walk and older handicaps to move around freely. I am sure that the SMART Walker will provide a greater amount of freedom for handicaps.

Visiting the Korean National Rehabilitation Center again

Me in front of the
 map of the NRC

Today, I visited the Korean National Rehabilitation Center again. There, I helped the nurses finish their work and entertained the patients. I met a female patient who could not talk. She was about twenty-three years old and her entire body was curved inwards, making her look small relative to her age. I read a simple picture book to her so that she does not stay bored. The book was a series of memoirs, all of which were written by handicapps who overcame their disabilities and became renowned people. Although she could not tell me that she enjoyed it, her facial expressions and grunts told me that she loved the stories.

Beside her was another female patient, the same age as me. Her legs were paralyzed, which meant that she could thankfully use her upper body. However, she was extremely shy, barely communicating with me, except for nods and short replies. For she was an intelligent patient, she owned a special computer, in which she learned many new things every day. However, the computer was operated by her brain signals and eyes. The mouse was controlled by the eye, and the letters were written by her brain signals and slight movements in her hands. I was quite amazed by how she operated her computer.

Research building of the NRC

Finally, I also helped the workers at the hospital. I assisted in cleaning the patients' quarters, copying documents, and feeding the handicaps. Again, I felt that disablities were similar, in fact, same as regular humans. They are just as kind, if not more, as normal people, although they have a slightly different view of life. I can understand how their physical body leads many to believe that they are different people. However, I hope that I can visit the NRC again in the near future.

Reducing the Price of the iBot

As I mentioned in my previous article, the iBot is an exceptionally helpful automatic wheel-chair, allowing the user to deftly climb up stairs and stand as tall as normal people. Unfortunately, its cost is extremely high, reaching nearly $20,000. The company Johnson & Johnson has stopped producing iBots because its expenditure on the product was higher than its revenue. Not many disabilities have bought the product because of its unusually high price. Disabled people do not have enough money because they cannot work in careers. Therefore, demanding such a high price for an indispensable wheel-chair robot is outrageous. Fortunately, there are several ways to reduce the price of the iBot.

To begin with, the price of the iBot can be reduced by convincing the world's largest companies, including Microsoft, Google, and Apple, to help pay for an research and engineering team for the iBot. Up until now, one company, Johnson & Johnson, has paid for the research, resulting in a large expenditure. On the other hand, if several major companies cooperate to manage a large research team of scientists, the expenditure for each company drops significantly and the public image of those philantrhopic companies would improve.

Second, the iBot could be redisgned and remade, but this time considering the price of the new product. The team of researchers should use conventional technology in producing the motor, wheels, frame, and seat of the iBot. All four of these components in the original iBot were made by using cutting-edge and avant-garde technology. By using conventional technology, the price of the iBot would significantly drop since the technology being used is already widespread in many other products.
Finally, major companies, governments, and non-profit organizations can pay for a fraction of the cost of the iBot. Handicaps are unable to earn money because of their lack of control over their bodies. Therefore, these wealthy corporations could help disabilities by giving money to disabilities so that they just need to pay for a certain amount of the original cost.

In conclusion, we can lower the cost of the iBot by convincing large companies to pay for a major research team, redesign and remake the iBot with considering the new price, and non-profit organizations and governments can pay for a certain fraction of the cost, making the price disabilities need to pay lower.