Bringing Engineering Lessons to Visually Impaired Students

AME associate professor Kavan Hazeli is using custom-made technology to help visually impaired students better understand the world of engineering and mechanics. With the help of Sahand Sabet, who graduated in 2021 with a PhD in mechanical engineering, Hazeli is testing prototype educational tools with students from the Arizona State School of the Deaf and the Blind.

"I'm one of those people who really believes no one should be left behind. If you want to learn, we have a responsibility to provide that opportunity," Hazeli said in an Arizona Public Media interview. 

The lessons involve a wind tunnel the students operate by touch, as well as artificial intelligence and augmented reality technologies. Another tool is a drone that is encased in a shell, so students can safely hold the machine and feel the way it changes pitch and direction. 

"I see the difficulties, and I see that there's a solution," Sabet said. "That's basically the purpose of engineering. If you can make someone's life easier, I mean, what's better than that"