New study helps rocket us towards inclusive space travel
The AstroAccess project has taken flight, set up to understand what more inclusive space travel looks like. 26 percent of the American population have a disability according to the CDC, though 8.4 percent of the country’s employed scientists and engineers are disabled. The point of this project Read More...
The Optimist Daily Update Transcript: Mariella Satow & Sign Up
This is an ASL interpretation and transcript of the December 10, 2021 episode of The Optimist Daily Update titled "Mariella Satow: Sign Up." Transcription: Summers: Hello, universe. Welcome to the Optimist Daily Update. I'm Summers McKay. Kristy: And I'm Kristy Jansen, and we are part of the Read More...
Winners of international James Dyson Award 2021 announced
Every year the international James Dyson Awards take place, where designers have to come up with new-problem solving ideas. Previous winners have included an at-home breast cancer detection box, a plastic alternative made from fish waste, and an urban wind turbine. The bar is set high for Read More...
17-year-old develops app to bring the magic of movies to young deaf viewers
For deaf viewers, open captioning makes movies and television more accessible, but for younger viewers who cannot read very quickly, subtitles aren’t very helpful. Fortunately, a new app, developed by 17-year-old student Mariella Satow, is making children’s movies more accessible with sign Read More...
Air 4 All hopes to make dignified air travel accessible for everyone
While many of us are craving new surroundings and landscapes, most would probably like to skip over the part where we are confined to the cramped space of an airline seat for hours and hours. That said, having a seat on an airplane that can adequately accommodate us is a privilege that not everyone Read More...
This smart wheelchair enables users to climb stairs and adjust height
Here at The Optimist Daily, we are big proponents of technologies that move the world forward in an inclusive and thoughtful way. That’s why we’re happy to share with you BRO, a futuristic, stairs-climbing wheelchair developed by Scewo, which aims to offer people of restricted mobility the Read More...
Students invent device so dad in wheelchair can stroll with his baby
A group of high school students has invented an innovative stroller attachment for wheelchairs that allows people with disabilities to safely take their baby for a walk. The invention, called WheeStroll, was developed by a team of students from Bullis School in Maryland, as part of a class called Read More...
16-year-old codes speech app to help his nonverbal sister communicate
Families of individuals who have conditions that make it difficult or impossible for them to communicate verbally can attest to the fact that going through diagnosis and treatment can be astronomically expensive. So, when the tools and apps that can facilitate communication for those with verbal Read More...
NaviLens helps the visually impaired navigate public transportation
If you’ve ever navigated an unfamiliar public transportation system, you likely relied heavily on signage to find your way around, but for the visually impaired, public transportation systems are often far less accessible. A new navigation app, NaviLens, hopes to change this by providing auditory Read More...
New project aims to make the world’s longest hiking trail more accessible
As the longest recreational trail in the world, The Great Trail in Canada has really changed the way Canadians can experience their country’s natural heritage. It officially opened in 2017, after nearly 25 years of planning, to connect 27,000 kilometers of multi-use trails in ways that are safe Read More...