A new Monash University centre will leverage leading multidisciplinary research to co-design new opportunities for people with disabilities using 3D printing, voice interaction, AI and other new technologies.
MATS Centre Deputy Director Associate Professor Louisa Willoughby talking about the 3D printing guidelines and Signbank. Image credit: Angkit Thapa Magar/ Monash University
The Monash Assistive Technology and Society (MATS) Centre was officially launched today, in the presence of Assistant Minister for Social Security, Women and Ageing, the Hon Kate Thwaites MP and Monash University Provost and Senior Vice-President Professor Susan Elliott.
The launch event highlighted the Centre's major ongoing projects including the 2022 Eureka Prize winner TapeBlocks enabling creative circuit-making for people with intellectual disabilities, Signbank - the online Australian sign language dictionary, interactive 3D printed maps for blind people to help people with low vision understand their environment, and the Mobile Makervan taking 3D printing, laser cutting and other capabilities to different disability support sites across Victoria making creative technological exploration more accessible.
These projects are supported by a Monash maker space at the Faculty of Information Technology dedicated to MATS, which incorporates 3D printers, laser cutters, electronics, AI technology, and a vast array of assistive technologies.
The Centre, started in 2023, is led by assistive technology researchers and social scientists from Monash University's Faculty of Information Technology and Faculty of Arts.
Monash University Provost and Senior Vice-President Professor Susan Elliott celebrated the launch of the new Centre.
"We are proud to be home to a new hub that joins pioneering research with community participation as a continuation of Monash's promise to build thriving communities enriched with world-leading multidisciplinary expertise," Professor Elliott said.
MATS Centre Director and assistive technologies expert Professor Kim Marriott, from the Faculty of Information Technology, highlighted the ways in which digital technology can support equitable access by people with disability to education, employment and the community.
"When developed carefully and co-designed alongside people with disabilities, new technologies like generative AI, object and facial recognition, mixed reality and 3D printing have the potential to provide empowering solutions and new opportunities that were not previously available to these communities," Professor Marriott said.
Applied linguistics expert Associate Professor Louisa Willoughby, from the Faculty of Arts, is the new Centre's Deputy Director. Her current research uses various online technologies to improve the teaching of Australian Sign Language (Auslan).
"It is important to understand technology through a social lens for us to present the most useful solutions and opportunities for real-world situations," Associate Professor Wiloughby said.
"The Centre places emphasis on bringing multidisciplinary researchers together so the assistive technologies research is enriched by various perspectives."
The launch included MATS community and disability organisation partners Able Australia, Vision Australia, NextSense, Quantum RLV, HumanWare, Guide Dogs Victoria, the Statewide Vision Resource Centre, Department of Education Victoria, Department of Education Queensland and Wallara Foundation that have collaborated with the Centre's researchers.
Braille educator and MATS Centre Manager Ramona Mandy is a disability rights advocate. She was also part of the Centre's research to develop new accessible 3D printing guidelines.
"As a blind person and someone who has been working in the sector, it is incredible to co-design and be at the forefront of research that helps people living with disabilities lead self-directed lives," Ms Mandy said.
"Co-designed research and community partnerships are at the heart of the Centre's activities, ensuring it tackles real-world challenges and delivers meaningful, lasting impact."
