While some high school students may spend their summer vacations relaxing, a group of Newton teens dedicated eight weeks to engineering custom adaptive devices for people with disabilities through the LigerBots Adaptive Engineering Internship program.
The program, now in its third year, pairs teams of students with real clients from local organizations who need specialized assistive technology. This summer, three teams of students worked with the New England Pediatric Center, the Carroll Center for the Blind, and the Muscular Dystrophy Association to create devices that solve specific accessibility challenges.
“The intent for this program is to give high school students an internship where they had real clients to answer for, understand product packaging, meet a fixed schedule, and have a fixed budget,” explained Greer Swiston, a mentor with the LigerBots robotics team who has led the program for three years alongside fellow mentor John Sangiolo.
From concept to creation in eight weeks
Starting July 1st with no prior knowledge of their projects, the students had just eight weeks to research, design, prototype, test, and deliver finished products to their clients. Meeting twice weekly at Newton North High School, teams of 4-6 students tackled complex engineering challenges with budgets capped at $700 per project.
The first team created a switch-activated light panel system for the New England Pediatric Center, designing a foldable display with multiple panels that light up in different colors and patterns. The device allows multiple children with severe cognitive disabilities to engage in cause-and-effect play together using adaptive switches tailored to each child’s abilities.
“The cognitive ability is that of a one-year-old, so for it to be engaging, it needs to be very simple,” explained team member Chloe during the final presentation. The team spent significant time perfecting the light diffusion and finding the right materials to create an engaging visual experience while keeping the interface simple enough for the target users.
Innovation through iteration
The navigation device team, working with the Carroll Center for the Blind, faced multiple technical setbacks before achieving success. Their goal: create a wearable sensor system to detect overhead obstacles – like tree branches or low doorways – that traditional white canes miss.
After their ultrasonic sensor proved inadequate and their first LIDAR sensor couldn’t be programmed with available libraries, the team persevered through what one student called “a series of trial and error.” By Week Five, they had successfully implemented a time-of-flight sensor connected via Bluetooth to a haptic feedback buzzer worn on the wrist.
“We really didn’t have in mind what our final product would be at Week Five,” admitted one team member, “It was really just a journey throughout the process.”
The team’s persistence paid off when they presented their prototype to the Carroll Center’s Artificial Intelligence Club and received valuable feedback that shaped the final design, including the suggestion to make the haptic device separate from the sensor for better skin contact.
Meeting individual needs
Perhaps the most personalized solution came from the team working with Selim, a young man with muscular dystrophy who struggles to pick up dropped items. The students developed an innovative grabber using a latex balloon filled with coffee grounds that becomes rigid when air is evacuated, allowing it to conform to and grip objects of various shapes and sizes.
“Current solutions require a bit of strength to actually use,” explained team member Aaron. The team’s design mounts to Selim’s wheelchair with a counterbalanced arm and uses button controls he can easily operate despite his limited strength. The addition of mechanical claws helps grip larger items like water bottles that the granular gripper alone couldn’t handle.
Building on strong foundations
When asked what prepared them for this challenging work, students credited both their Newton Public Schools education and extracurricular activities. Many participants came from two Newton-based FIRST Robotic teams – the LigerBots (FRC 2877) and LazerRobotics (FTC 23286)– bringing technical skills from those programs.
“I took electrical engineering as a course at Newton North, and that taught me soldering as well as a lot of circuits and Arduino,” said one student. Another noted how ninth-grade physics helped them understand parallel circuits for the first time, knowledge they applied directly to their project.
A model for expansion
The program faced funding challenges this year after Northeastern University, which had previously sponsored it, discontinued support. The newly established LigerBots 501(c)(3) nonprofit stepped up, funding two projects while the LazerRobotics team supported the third.
Despite budgeting up to $500 per project, all three teams came in significantly under budget: The switch-activated light panel cost just $213, the grabber $304, and the navigation device only $117 for the final product.
Looking ahead, Swiston sees potential for growth in the program. “I’ve already talked with FRC teams about getting other teams involved as well, because I think there’s more need than our one team can handle,” she said, noting that client organizations readily provided “an entire shopping list” of needed solutions when contacted about the program.
The success of these student engineers demonstrates what’s possible when education, mentorship, and real-world application converge. As these devices enter daily use—helping children play together, enabling independence for people with visual impairments, and restoring autonomy to those with muscular dystrophy—they represent more than summer projects. They’re proof that high school students, given the right support and opportunity, can create solutions that meaningfully improve lives in their community.
The LigerBots Adaptive Engineering Internship runs each summer from July through August. For more information about the program or to propose a project, contact Coach Greer Swiston at [email protected].
