The Teletón Project was a student initiative carried out by the Centro de Robótica of the Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María in collaboration with Fundación Teletón - Instituto Valparaíso. The project combined the student interest for technology with social conscience to develop two prototypes that may help disable children and their families in their daily activities. It was partially funded by the Dirección de Relaciones Estudiantiles USM under the Student Initiative Grants (Fondos Concursables) schema and selected for a speech during the Grant Award Ceremony.

The project started in 2004 by a group of seven students. The group formed by four electronics engineering students, two industrial design engineering students and an industrial engineering student, see figure below.

The project was originally carried out for a year until the beginning of 2005, but later the project was re-started to improve the initial prototypes. Please visit the project official website here.

From left to right: Ian Hughes (E.E.), Nicolás Navarro-Guerrero (E.E.), Alejandra Vicencio (E.D.E.B.), Felipe Conejera (E.E.), Felix Henriquez (E.D.E.B.), César Muñoz (E.E.) and Mario Monardez (I.E.B.). Engineering degree abbreviations

A survey was made to determine which kind of necessities could be addressed from a technological viewpoint. Criteria such as number of beneficiaries, affordability and facilities for development were taken into consideration. After this process two devices were chosen for development. The first prototype was a wireless humidity sensor that was meant to alert the mother is the disable child was wet and alternatively could be use as an alarm activated by a bottom. The second a keyboard-like remote control to turn on/off lights, TV, or simple toys, the particularity of this keyboard was the sensitivity of the keys and ergonomic design.

First prototype of the Wireless humidity sensor - transmissor and receptor

Grants and Sponsors:

Centro de Robótica and Dirección de Relaciones Estudiantiles de la UTFSM

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