{"72584":{"#nid":"72584","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Tech and Shepherd Ctr. Awarded $4.75 Million Grant","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWireless technologies add flexibility and mobility to most users\u0027 lives, but often disabled people find access to these new technologies beyond their grasp. To address these challenges, Georgia Tech\u0027s Center for Advanced Communications Policy (CACP) and the Shepherd Center, a catastrophic care hospital in Atlanta, have been awarded a $4.75 million Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center (RERC) grant on wireless technologies aimed at enhancing the lives of people with disabilities. This second five-year grant, awarded from the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) under the U.S. Department of Education, supports the continuation of the innovative wireless activities undertaken during the first five years of the Wireless RERC at Georgia Tech and Shepherd.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Our partnerships within Georgia Tech, the Shepherd Center, the wireless industry and other researchers, both domestically and abroad, have always promoted equitable access to wireless technologies for people with disabilities,\u0022 says Dr. Helena Mitchell, CACP executive director and Wireless RERC principal investigator and co-director. \u0022We look forward to the research and development of the RERC\u0027s new initiatives which also address this important field of study.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022We are very excited that continued funding has been awarded for the Wireless RERC,\u0022 noted Dr. Michael Jones, Shepherd Center\u0027s vice president for research and technology and RERC co-director. \u0022This award validates our accomplishments over the past five years and also affirms the growing importance of wireless technologies for disabled and non-disabled users alike.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe Wireless RERC will explore research and development of new wireless technology applications, as well as continue its work on legislative, policy and regulatory monitoring and analysis. Dr. Mitchell added, \u0027CACP\u0027s past policy activities have contributed to regulatory changes at the Federal Communications Commission where the Wireless RERC was cited three times in rulemakings regarding advanced technologies and emergency communications.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAreas of new technology development include emergency communications, location-based services, advanced auditory interfaces for handheld electronic devices, and universal remote control systems that allow a cell phone to seamlessly operate other electronic devices and appliances. The RERC team will also partner with wireless product manufacturers, mobile wireless service providers, and consumer volunteers with disabilities to test and report on the usability of a variety of wireless devices. Results from this product testing will be used to create an online resource of wireless product reviews that highlight important usability features.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe Wireless RERC is one of 23 RERCs in the United States. Other RERCs are devoted to fields such as aging, hearing or vision-related disabilities, public transportation, workplace accommodations, universal design, wheeled mobility, and information technology access.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech participants in the Wireless RERC include the Center for Assistive Technology and Environmental Access (CATEA), College of Computing, Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI), Interactive Media Technology Center (IMTC), School of Psychology, School of Public Policy, and the Southeast Disability and Business Technical Assistance Center (SEDBTAC).  \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAbout Shepherd Center\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nFounded in 1975, Shepherd Center is the largest free-standing specialty hospital in the U.S., with comprehensive programs in spinal cord injury, brain injury, multiple sclerosis, spina bifida, post-polio syndrome, and other neuromuscular diseases.  Shepherd is the premier provider of medical rehabilitation and community re-entry services and supports for people with disabilities in the Southeast.  Since 1982, Shepherd Center has been designated by NIDRR as a Model System of Care for Spinal Cord Injury (SCI). For the seventh year in a row, Shepherd Center was recently recognized as one of the country\u0027s top rehabilitation hospitals in U.S. News \u0026amp; World Report\u0027s 2006 edition of \u0027America\u0027s Best Hospitals.\u0027\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Grant Addresses Wireless Technologies for the Disabled"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"Tech\u0027s Center for Advanced Communications Policy and Shepherd Center, a catastrophic care hospital, have been awarded a Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center grant on wireless technologies aimed at enhancing the lives of people with disabilities.","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Grant focuses on wireless technologies for disabled"}],"uid":"27301","created_gmt":"2006-10-11 00:00:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:01:42","author":"Elizabeth Campell","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2006-10-12T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2006-10-12T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"72585":{"id":"72585","type":"image","title":"Dr. Helena Mitchell, CACP executive director and W","body":null,"created":"1449177942","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:25:42","changed":"1475894661","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:44:21"}},"media_ids":["72585"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.shepherd.org\/","title":"Shepherd Center"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.cacp.gatech.edu\/","title":"CACP"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.wirelessrerc.gatech.edu\/","title":"Wireless RERC"}],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[{"id":"139","name":"Business"},{"id":"153","name":"Computer Science\/Information Technology and Security"},{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"2650","name":"advanced communications policy"},{"id":"2652","name":"assistive"},{"id":"2651","name":"auditory"},{"id":"1293","name":"cell phone"},{"id":"359","name":"disability"},{"id":"2646","name":"disabled"},{"id":"1234","name":"emergency"},{"id":"2647","name":"handicapped"},{"id":"1752","name":"mobile"},{"id":"1753","name":"phone"},{"id":"626","name":"public policy"},{"id":"554","name":"rehabilitation"},{"id":"2648","name":"Rehabilitation engineering research"},{"id":"2645","name":"RERC"},{"id":"167328","name":"shepherd"},{"id":"2644","name":"technologies"},{"id":"2412","name":"telecom"},{"id":"2653","name":"usability"},{"id":"1526","name":"wireless"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cstrong\u003ELisa Grovenstein\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications \u0026amp; Marketing\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.gatech.edu\/contact\/index.html?id=lgrovenste3\u0022\u003EContact Lisa Grovenstein\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E404-894-8835\u003C\/strong\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["lisa.grovenstein@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}