things that are cool with wheels = Robbie Ivey. This 19 yr old guy is cool, and usually found in a wheelchair. Things are improving, and here's a post on how.

He just started college too!

But, lets get to the things improving... Amazon has this tech device called Alexa, (named after the ancient library of Alexandria) you've probably seen commercials about it. Google has a similar smart speaker device called Google Home or Google Mini.

It's a voice controlled speaker, and when you speak the activation words "Hey Google" and then a command for it to accomplish, like, "turn on fan" it gets it's little computer gadgets to properly respond with relays and switches and bingo! That outlet gets turned on, and supplies electricity to the outlet that the fan is plugged into, accomplishing tasks by voice that would otherwise require you to use your hands to do these things.

Since Rob's muscular dystrophy has prevented his muscles from growing correctly, the result is that his muscle fibers that ought to control bones, resulting in movement with the arms, hands, fingers etc, have not formed, and he needs a substitute for his arms and hands (for example) with someone else's arms and hands, or, in this case technology that is voice activated to interact with motors and switches.

This results in Rob regaining the ability to control things and gives him back some independence that the muscular dystrophy took away.

And that's where the new tech of smart speakers  from Amazon or Google come into the story, and make Rob's life a lot easier. All that was needed, was the right people... and Rob's mom was fortunately connected with Bill Weis of http://limitedmobility.solutions/  Everything that Bill and Limited Mobility does is free to the person. (Just like me... you aren't charged for this blog either!)

They met at a Muscular Dystrophy event and although it started with designing a custom voice activated solution for his bed, it quickly spread to using commercially available products to fully voice activate everything possible in his room.

Instead of pushing buttons to adjust his bed from horizontal to more reclining, Rob just tells Alexa to move the head of the bed up. Then he can easily see a tv screen, and he can avoid interrupting his mom to do that.

Bill has innovated what can be done with voice activation today, with out-of-the-box solutions as well as custom developed solutions. If you've heard of "Smart Homes" that react to your pushing a button to activate the drapes, air conditioning, turning on music, etc, it's very much the same tech approach to making things happen for you without effort on your part. (I worked for a company that was installing Logitech 10 years ago, and we did a few things like this)

Bill and Mobility Solutions also want to build a library of guidance documentation that supplement what exists, in an effort to simplify installations. Finally, Bill is looking to create a way of gathering requirements for other unmet needs in hopes of working towards solving those problems.

Voice activated solutions can be beneficial for anyone with limited mobility regardless of the cause whether that be from debilitating diseases, the battlefield, accident victims or other health related issues.

There are some limits to how far this tech has come, for example, you must have internet access, a wi fi router, and in the case of making voice activated phone calls, it is possible to voice activate phone calls with both the Amazon Echo and the Google Home smart speakers. Google doesn't yet have the tech to voice activate for receiving calls, so an Echo Connect device must be added to Amazon Echo, which then enables voice activated answering phone calls.

Amazon Echo has things it can do, and some it can't. Google Home has similar features and limits. Adding Logitech Harmony Hub increases the number of things that can be done.

http://limitedmobility.solutions/  is currently in the registry for the Wounded Warrior Project as providers of voice activated solutions for our disabled military, they work with MDA, MS and many other organizations
https://blog.google/outreach-initiatives/accessibility/robbie-iveys-story-how-technology-removes-barriers/