On 18 December 2023, one of our project workshops took place at the Institute for the Blind in Vienna. The aim of the workshop was to test the first prototypes of five projects from the higher technical colleges in which innovative Smart Sport Assistance solutions are being developed. These projects are led by the HTL students as a diploma thesis or project work.
The five projects that were the focus of the workshop are called “Bell Ball”, fitness app “Bodyfit”, “Hear & Jump”, “Donner Wetter Blitz” and “Collision Detection”. Each project has the overarching goal of developing intelligent and technology-based assistance systems to facilitate access to sport for people with visual impairments or blindness.
The involvement of the students from the Institute for the Blind in the workshop was particularly important. They played a crucial role in evaluating the projects. Divided into groups, the students from the Institute for the Blind had the opportunity to try out each project in station mode and actively participate in the testing process. During the workshop, the students from the Institute for the Blind gave the HTL students valuable feedback. They emphasised what was already working well, made suggestions for improvement and identified any weaknesses. This participatory approach not only allowed for a comprehensive evaluation of the projects, but also created a very good environment for knowledge exchange between the two groups of students.
The projects showed varying degrees of progress, but all prototypes were tested to the extent that practical implementation was possible. The students from the Institute for the Blind and the HTLs enjoyed actively participating in the testing process, which made the workshop a very enriching experience for everyone involved. The HTL students now have the opportunity to evaluate the collected feedback and incorporate it into their projects in order to optimise them.
