The current Tadvic was formed nine years ago on 30th August 2016.
In the last year we have processed over 100 requests for assistive technology – helping clients throughout greater Melbourne and some throughout Victoria by remote consultation and delivery.
Projects in the last year included:
Various modifications to wheelchairs, mobility scooters and 4 wheel walkers
Steps and platforms for short stature students
Various modifications to seating and desks
A Vision Impaired Table Tennis Table plus we shared our design with several other makers
Various other equipment for vision impaired people
Lowering and raising beds and other modifications
Various kitchen aids
The role of Tadvic as a low-cost quality provider of custom assistive technology is being understood and appreciated by a growing audience.
Our client is legally blind and plays mandolin in a band. He jokes that stringed instrument players “spend half their time tuning the instrument and the other half playing out of tune”.
His fellow band members tune their instruments with a clip-on tuner. These pick up vibrations on the instrument and display the note and how far out of tune the string is. The pickup means they are immune to surrounding noise (e.g. other instruments). However, our client cannot see the display.
There is an Apple App, “Talking Tuner”, that speaks the note and how far out of tune it is. But it relies on the iPhone microphone and speaker and is impacted by surrounding noise. The App/iPhone does not support simultaneous use of cabled mic input and Bluetooth output and trying to trick that results in an inaudible output level.
Tadvic set about creating a system with a clip-on pick up and speech to a Bluetooth headset.
We combined:
An ESP32 LilyGo T-Display 16MB microcontroller with
A TL072 High Impedance Pre-amp with a 5v to 12v step up
A 5V Li-ion battery pack
An on-off switch
Put the above in Jiffy box
A clip-on cabled pickup (Peterson Pitch Grabber or similar)
A Bluetooth headset
and built software on the Arduino IDE platform.
Some tuners are specific to the instrument (e.g. the 6 strings of a guitar) while some support several instruments (e.g. guitar, violin, ukelele). We set out to create a chromatic tuner (i.e. covers the entire range of a piano “C”, “C#”, “D”, “D#”, “E”, “F”, “F#”, “G”, “G#”, “A”, “A#”, “B” across 8 octaves).
After months of trying numerous approaches, we have produced a working system, using Fast Fourier Transform software with various enhancements. The range is suitable for guitar, mandolin, ukelele etc, but does not cover the extremities of the piano range. When a string is played, the system speaks to the paired Bluetooth headset, e.g “3 cents below A4”. The result is also displayed for sighted users.
Please contact Tadvic if you want more details including a free copy of the software.
The accuracy is +/- a couple of cents, i.e. about 0.25Hz in the range we are using. It matches the Talking Tuner when the latter is used in a quiet environment. It is suitable for casual musicians, but serious / professional musicians require more accuracy. Expensive clip-on tuners like Boss, D’Addario, Snark generally aim for an accuracy of +/- 1 cent or better. For even greater accuracy, strobe tuners (like the Peterson StroboClip HD) can achieve +/- 0.1 cent accuracy i.e. 1/1000th of a semitone. We could not find a way of interfacing these more accurate devices to speech output.
Our client is 2 years old. She has just got her first powered wheelchair, but it is too big to use in the home or at daycare.
Her family bought a ride-on toy car, similar to one her sibling uses. However, she cannot control the steering wheel and accelerator. The car came with a remote control, but she cannot operate the push buttons.
Tadvic was asked to convert the car to joystick control.
We found the simplest and cheapest way, was to interface a digital joystick to the remote, with the joystick switches (for forward, back, left and right) connected in parallel with the corresponding buttons on the remote. We also added a push button for the speed control on the remote (1,2,3, 1,2,3, etc) and an on/off switch in parallel with the button on the dash, which was out of reach.
Our client uses a powered wheelchair. She arranged a holiday in Japan.
Tadvic provided a harness to tow her wheeled suitcase behind her wheelchair.
We also provided a means to carry a folding ramp between the wheelchair and her case.
In addition, we modified a commode/shower seat to suit Japanese toilets, that she could also carry.
We provided a hook to carry a water bottle below the arm of her wheelchair.
She was “over the moon”.
(Photo supplied by client)
Finally, a reminder that the Japanese electricity grid is 100v and Australian 240v wheelchair chargers won’t work. We helped her source a suitable 100v to 220v up-convertor after she arrived.
The current Tadvic was formed eight years ago on 30thAugust 2016. In the past 8 years we have processed over 500 requests for assistive technology – helping clients throughout greater Melbourne and some throughout Victoria by remote consultation and delivery. We have also had a request from New Zealand, where we shared designs. Projects in the last year included:
Various modifications to 4 wheel walkers and mobility scooters
Various modifications for people of short stature, including seating and desks
Two Vision Impaired Table Tennis Tables
Modifications to 17 hammocks for a Special Development School
Modifications to a rowing machine
Several accessible art easels
The role of Tadvic as a low-cost quality provider of custom assistive technology is being understood and appreciated by a growing audience.
Our client is a young girl with Cerebral Palsy. She is entering Grade 5 and requires a new chair for school on castors and with a lap belt. She also requires a low platform as her feet don’t touch the floor.
Our client wanted her chair to look like her peers (as much as possible). A chair was provided from the school, but they requested it be left intact.
The chair was mounted on 18mm plywood with corners rounded. Four 75mm castors (rear two locking) were mounted under the platform The top side of the platform was covered with carpet (glued), similar to that in the classroom.
Holes were drilled in the platform for the chair legs to penetrate.
The legs were bolted to steel tube, at a height that the legs were just above the floor. The tubes were bolted to the top side of the platform.
A 50mm wide webbing lap belt was fitted to the chair with metal webbing adjustment clips. 10cm lengths of hook / clip Velcro were stitched the free ends of the belt.
Our client relies on a 45 degree rail in an ambulant toilet. Some toilets have a right angle rail.
Tadvic built a portable rail that adds a 45 degree rail to a right angle rail. This can be carried in the family car and used when required. The rail can be fitted to a left or right handed rail. It slips on and is held by 2 hand bolts.
The 45 degree Angle Rail Fitted to a Right Angle Rail
The current Tadvic was formed six years ago on 30thAugust 2016.
In the past 6 years we have processed over 350 requests for assistive technology – helping clients throughout greater Melbourne and some throughout Victoria by remote consultation and delivery. We have also had requests from Queensland and Romania, where we shared designs.
Projects in the last year included:
Various equipment for people of short stature
Various modifications to 4 wheel walkers and
mobility scooters
Various modifications to seating and desks
Two Vision Impaired Table Tennis Tables
Modifications to equipment for lawn bowling and
ten pin bowling
The role of Tadvic as a low cost quality provider of custom assistive
technology is being understood and appreciated by a growing audience.
Covid19 has restricted our activities in the last few years
but like everyone we look forward normality.
