National Geographic World
March, 1996 - pages 30 - 31
by Jane R. McGoldrick

Krista Caudill checks out a finger-spelling robot hand that forms shapes in her palm. "Each letter of the alphabet has a shape," expalins Krista, who is deaf and blind. Her expert opinion? "The transition from one letter to another needs to be smoother," she says, "and the hand needs to be speeded up."

"The people I work with really value my opinion. It makes me feel good that people can learn from me." Krista Caudill

High-tech helping hand

When Krista Caudill tested a finger-spelling robot hand she immediately put her finger on a problem. The robot hand shifted into neutral between each letter it spelled, creating unnatural delays. Now, thanks to Krista's help, engineers are refining the motions.

Krista is deaf and blind. To communicate, she often uses finger spelling - forming shapes that stand for letters in the palm of the hand of her "listener". Krista helps engineers who work at the A.I. DuPont Institute in Wilmington, Delaware. They develop and test equipment to help peopl with disabilities. Krista is one of about a dozen young people with disabilities from the area who serve as consumer researchers before devices are ready to be sold.

"We ask researchers to attend team meetings and give us ongoing feedback," says director Richard Foulds. "They're a major part of our team."