Senior engineering students create a ball launcher and a painting equipment for cerebral palsy kids.

Her eyes squint to focus, her mouth softens into a smile, and her fingers press down on the controller, launching a baseball into the air. Emerson Allen, 14, had patiently awaited this day for the previous year, when she would finally be able to play ball alongside her peers.

Allen, a Baton Rouge native, was born with cerebral palsy, a movement and muscular coordination disorder. Allen and her Baton Rouge school, St. Lillian Academy, cooperated with Louisiana State University (LSU) engineering students on a project that would allow her to throw a baseball into the air, so she could participate in school events and play on her Miracle League baseball team.

Under the guidance of LSU Mechanical Engineering Instructor Dave Giurintano, a group of five LSU Engineering seniors has been working on this capstone design project since autumn 2021. ME seniors Camille Wetekamm of Mandeville, Sven Newhauser of Baton Rouge, Charlie Williams of New Orleans, and electrical engineering seniors Molly Shepherd (team captain) and Thomas Rinaudo, also of Baton Rouge, are among the members of the team.

Wetekamm described Emerson as “very sweet.” “‘Ohhhhh yeah,’ she says every time we meet. We are aware that we must complete this project for school, but we also have an additional motivation to complete it for Emerson. This will have an impact on her life as well as the lives of other pupils at St. Lillian. It’s a truly unique project in the capstone world.”

One of the founders of St. Lillian Academy, Elissa McKenzie, went out to the College of Engineering to see if students could develop something for Allen that would allow her to play baseball.

“I’ve been submitting a variety of projects to the capstone groups every year for the previous ten years,” McKenzie said. “We’ve worked with LSU on a number of projects, and the capstone teams have always come up with incredible and innovative ideas that have benefited some of our students.” It’s wonderful what these LSU Engineering students do for us.”

When the LSU capstone team went to one of Allen’s baseball games, they noticed that the kids were throwing the ball about 20 feet, indicating that the ball launcher they were designing didn’t need to be extremely quick. The launcher consists of two parts: a motorized PVC pipe and a controller. The 3-by-3-foot contraption functions as a gigantic pinball plunger connected to a computer.

Allen presses buttons on the controller, which was specifically created for her left-handed range of motion, to send a signal to the launcher ordering it to hurl left, right, up, or down. Allen chose the colors for each of the controller’s command buttons, with red serving as the launch color. The team also included safety sensors, which prevent the ball launcher from working if someone is within 10 feet of its front.

“We wanted Emerson’s user interface to be hard while still giving her a sense of achievement when the ball landed where she wants it to,” Rinaudo said.

The launching mechanism will be kept at St. Lillian for Allen and other pupils who may be able to utilize it.

Wetekamm remarked, “It’s really fantastic to perform a capstone project that has an impact on someone’s life and will improve the way they connect with friends.”

Shepherd described the situation as “extremely thrilling.” “She’s really looking forward to using the launcher. She made us all go out and catch the ball, and she knew all of our names, so it was a great pleasure to see her enjoy a technology that we had worked so hard to develop.”

A group of LSU Mechanical and Computer Engineering students recently completed their senior capstone design project, which was to create a programmed that allows William Bradford, an 18-year-old former student of Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital’s Developmental Center at McMains, to paint on a canvas using only his eyes and head movements. Bradford, who is confined to a wheelchair due to cerebral palsy, enjoys painting and is now able to do it more easily owing to these four LSU students and their Art-Eaux-Matic project.

Since fall 2021, Computer Engineering seniors Timothy Curol of Lake Charles, Louisiana, Emily Vu of Metairie, Louisiana, Mechanical Engineering senior Jack Clement of Iowa, Louisiana, and Mechanical Engineering junior exchange student Ewan Robertson of Scotland have been working on this painting project. Bradford is able to choose colors and “command” the paintbrush which direction to move using a computer screen hooked to his wheelchair, creating brushstrokes on the canvas that resemble what Bradford sees on his screen.

“I assisted with the project’s software design,” Curol explained. “We created an app that uses eye gaze and head switch control to paint on a computer screen and then sends the data to a device.” Java was used to make it.

Vu collaborated with Curol on the app’s programming and motor movement, while Clement and Robertson worked on the brush movement. Robertson designed the portion that moves the brush up and down or side to side on the canvas, while Clement designed the gadget that rotates the brush on and off the canvas.

“Combining engineering with something I’m passionate about was fantastic,” Robertson added. “I enjoy working with disabled children, which I do when I teach disabled children to swim in Scotland.”

Vu stated, “This project was so much fun.” “I enjoy looking at the paint on the canvas, and we all became friends as a result of it. It’s great to see William having a good time as well.”

Curol noted that not only did he love working with Bradford and his family, but he also learned a lot about himself while working on the project. Bradford’s family also helped with the project, and Clement was impressed with Bradford’s painting abilities.

Bradford’s mother, Anne Marie, remarked, “William has always loved to paint.” “This allows him to do things without as much of my assistance, allowing him to do things on his own, which he enjoys. This is an incredible achievement and victory for all disabled children.”