Spring 2021 PEAK Experience Recipient: Samantha Johnson

Congratulations to the COE student recipients of the Spring 2021 PEAK Experiences Awards. The PEAK Experiences Awards are a progressively structured sequence of opportunities designed to support learners as they continue climbing to new heights of achievement in undergraduate research and creative endeavor throughout their Northeastern journeys.

Samantha Johnson, COE’21, Bioengineering
“Project TATUM (Tactile ASL Translational User Mechanism)”
Mentor: Professor Chiara Bellini, Bioengineering
For deaf blind individuals to efficiently communicate, they require the use of interpreting services. To increase the autonomy of the deaf blind community, I am developing a 3D printed, open-source, low-cost, anthropomorphic robotic arm capable of signing American Sign Language (ASL) from text input. Design validation will include motion capture analysis of the ASL alphabet, material property testing, and feedback trials with deaf blind participants to ensure a high incidence of sign recognition. The TATUM Arm will promote a sense of independence and community among deaf blind individuals, especially during COVID-19 when social distancing has limited the availability of interpreters.