Researchers in Carleton University’s Abilities Living Laboratory (ALL) are working to make life more accessible for Canadians with disabilities.
Adrian Chan, ALL’s director, said the lab’s research is studying how it can extend accessibility beyond everyday tasks to aspects of life including sports, music and employment. The lab, which has received $6 million in funding, started its research last October.
The Charlatan sat down with Chan to discuss the lab’s research and goals for improving accessibility.
The Charlatan (TC): What is the Abilities Living Laboratory?
Adrian Chan (AC): The ALL is a new, interdisciplinary environment. We have researchers from engineering to music gathered together to research how to increase the social participation of people with disabilities in all aspects of life.
TC: What projects is ALL developing?
AC: First, there’s robotics projects to help people who had a stroke engage in rehabilitation walking activities sooner and more frequently. For example, a robot could be placed on a person’s foot to mimic walking while they’re sitting in bed. Or, the robots could support a person as they walk in a hallway and provide support and some safety. If they might fall, it would catch them.
Our researchers have also been looking at different ways of engaging in music-making for people with disabilities. Traditional instruments might not be accessible to people with functional limitations, so digital or electronic instruments might provide an alternative to that.
Some researchers have also been studying the accessibility of travel, including air travel and infection protection control.
TC: Researchers from various disciplines are contributing to ALL. Why is that important?
AC: People might self-exclude themselves from research, thinking they can’t be involved because they’re not an engineer. But research like ours does benefit from a diversity of perspectives and skill sets. I hope people see that and recognize opportunities to contribute. We also made an effort to ensure that the ALL laboratories are accessible to researchers with disabilities.
TC: What challenges does ALL face?
AC: The co-ordination across disciplines or between community and academia needs to work. It’s worthwhile, that’s why I’m hesitant to call it a challenge, but it does take longer to do properly.
Also, accessibility is still an emerging discipline and looking for funding can be challenging. Because it’s a very interdisciplinary field, it doesn’t fall neatly into the boxes that funding agencies normally have. You can run into problems where you don’t receive funding opportunities or they aren’t the right fit.
TC: How does ALL overcome those funding obstacles?
AC: We keep trying. Because my main research discipline, biomedical engineering, crosses engineering, biology and medicine, I’ve had some experience in falling between funding cracks. That’s the nature of it when you’re doing something relatively new or emerging. I don’t know if there’s a simple solution — you just work your best to keep moving forward.
TC: ALL uses the motto “Nothing about us, without us.” What does that mean?
AC: The disability community uses that motto. For way too long, work has been done for the community without their input, resulting in unsuitable or undesirable solutions. “Nothing about us, without us” means including the participation of disabled people in all aspects, including research and development.
More recently, the disability community has adopted a different variation: “Nothing without us.” That motto is about a future where the disability community is included in everything right from the get-go.
We’ve been seeing a change of mentality from the idea of research, engineering and design for the disability community, to the idea of research, engineering and design with the disability community. At ALL, we’re not just doing cutting-edge research for or with, but it’s also being done by people with disabilities.
TC: What’s next for ALL?
AC: We’re just kicking off. It’s really about building on the momentum that we have and then continuing to build our network by including collaborators and engaging other researchers. I hope to build Carleton’s capacity to contribute to a more inclusive and accessible society.
This article has been edited for length and clarity.
Featured image provided by Adrian Chan.
