Last Year's Winners

Drew Hall and Team, Stanford United States of America

Description
In third world countries, access to medical diagnostic laboratories and well trained technicians is limited. As a result, the majority of diagnoses in these regions are based upon patient signs and symptoms. While this method of patient care is suitable in straightforward situations such as diagnosing the flu, the vast majority of illnesses cannot be determined by simple observation. In contrast, in the developed world, medical decision-making is increasingly based on molecular testing where quantitative detection of disease-specific proteins in serum and other bodily fluids has become the basis behind virtually any therapy. Here, we present a technology that will make it feasible to bring the same diagnostic potential of the developed world to third world countries or the patient’s home. More specifically, we have designed a handheld device capable of quantitative multiplex protein detection in a very simple to use, wash-free assay that is more sensitive than the Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA), the current gold standard in protein detection. Due to the ease of use, portability, and low cost, our platform could have a very broad impact on society ranging from molecular diagnostics in remote villages in Africa (which lack laboratory equipment and skilled technicians) to over the counter home diagnostics kits that can be purchased at your local pharmacy.

Solution
In order to make the protein detection platform portable and easy to use, we have developed a new, innovative wash-free assay that requires only three simple steps by the end user (Figure 1). First, the end user places the sample (saliva, blood, serum, urine, cell lysates, etc.) into the reaction well. Second, a few drops of a solution containing magnetic nanoparticles is added. Finally, the detection antibody is introduced. Fifteen minutes after the detection antibody is added, the NanoLab test module will convert the concentration of protein detected into a colored light output. If the light is off, the protein is undetectable. A green light indicates low protein concentration, an orange light indicates medium protein concentration, and a red light indicates high protein concentration (Refer toFigure 10 for more details). Since the reaction well is equipped with 8 sensors, we are capable of monitoring up to 8 different proteins simultaneously in a single assay.

Impact
The NanoLab test module has the potential for exceptionally broad impact on society ranging from life saving clinical diagnostics in the third world to rapid over the counter tests sold in pharmacies across the US. Since the NanoLab is portable, cheap (Appendix II) and exceptionally easy to use, it can be implemented anywhere in the world without relying on skilled technicians or expensive laboratory equipment. Furthermore, with the NanoLab, the user has the ability to monitor many different proteins simultaneously in a single assay providing him or her with even better diagnostic information than any single assay.

Description
We IEEE - B.V.Bhoomaraddi College of Engineering & Technology ’s Electronics & Communication Branch students have taken up an exciting venture to use Electronics to help Physically/Mentally Handicapped children of USHAS Center for Exceptional Children, Hubli (www.ushas.org ) by developing games/devices/toys etc that will create excitement/interest in the children to play them & hence undergo physical/mental exercise which is prescribed to them to overcome their disability but normally tend to neglect due to lack of enthusiasm & interest. Physical exercise such as muscle movement, limb movement, blowing/sucking actions, hand - eye coordination, eye movement etc & mental exercise such as imitation, response to quick stimuli, logical thinking etc are some of the outcomes of these projects.

3 Modules in the project are taken up with the following goals:

A) Walking Tutor - Leg Exercising Aid/Game

1) To slow progression of complications, avoid/delay contractures in
children having Muscular Dystrophy - by exercising their joints.
2) To bring joy and maximize the subject’s quality of life, bring respite to sick children - by making the system fun to use by incorporating fancy lighting and
music, make it look more like a game than like a course.
3) To improve eye-limb coordination in growing children.
4) To improve the Auditory and visual Reflexes.

B) Chitra Vallari - To enhance cognitive abilities

1) Enhancement of Visiuo motor coordination
2) Enhancement of cognitive function
3) speech training

Solution
To obtain the above goals, Electronic techniques & devices such as Microcontrollers, Speech storage Integrated Circuits, Speakers, Touch sensors, lights, Music Integrated circuits, Stepper Motors etc have been.
The required circuitry has been designed , tested and soldered on silicon chips and implemented robustly. Algorithms have been formed for the above mentioned games, processes etc and have been coded in assembly language for the microcontrollers. The electronic circuits are interfaced with the required mechanical assemblies.

These projects are implemented and tested on the physically/mentally handicapped students of USHAS Centre for Exceptional Children (www.ushas.org ). Continuous feedback is being taken & changes/improvements are being done. The project is being carried out with the vision of mass production of these electromechanical modules for replicating/scaling at different locations.

Plan of action:

Month one:

- Week one - Visiting the students at USHA school (an institute for the disabled), Hubli.
- Week two - Detailed analysis & planning of the electronic aids to be developed.
- Week three - Designing the electronic circuit.
- Week four - making a prototype model.

Month two:
- Week one - Testing the materials for strength and durability.
- Week two - Making the unit a stand-alone system and troubleshooting if any.
- Week three - Implementing it in the school.
- Week four - Feedback analysis & modifications.
These projects are funded by The Deshpande Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, Sankalp Semiconductors private limited & B.V.Bhoomaraddi College.

The modules of the project were developed in the year 2008 & Jan 2009. The were implemented & tested on Physically/Mentally Handicapped children of USHAS Center for Exceptional Children, Hubli (www.ushas.org ), continous feedback from the doctors & the tutors of these children is being taken & an effort has been triggered towards standardizing these modules for mass production so that they can be implemented/scaled at different locations with mobility.

Impact
Physical disabilities in children can be detected in early stages. A child who cannot walk properly for example, has to be motivated to walk so that he can have better and healthier legs. It can also help strengthen muscles and improve the reflexes of incapacitate and growing children.
The concept for the project was suggested by Mr. R. S. Okhade of the USHAS Center for exceptional children, Hubli.

Walking disability in children is a major health problem in India and other developing countries. The disability may be genetic, hereditary (Muscular Dystrophy) or due to the injuries, etc. Irrespective of the cause, lesser use of leg joints leads to improper growth of leg muscles, consequently leading to walking impairment. The rate of impairment increases, if not addressed appropriately and may eventually end up in permanent disability.
There are various kinds of muscular disabilities. For example, Muscular
Dystrophy. A quarter of a million kids and adults are living with Muscular Dystrophy. It is a genetic disorder that weakens the muscles that help the body move. All forms of muscular dystrophy, however, grow worse as muscles progressively degenerate. MD weakens muscles over time, so children, teens, and adults who have the disease can gradually lose the ability to do things like walking or sitting up.
There are things that children with MD and other muscular disabilities can do to help their muscles. Certain exercises and physical therapy can help them avoid contractures, a stiffening of the muscles near the joints that can make it harder to move and can lock the joints in painful positions. A program of regular, light exercise can help keep muscles in good condition.
So there’s a need to design a tool that can help the muscles of disabled children and at the same time, make it interactive and fun. The Walking tutor serves this purpose.

There are many children with mental disorders. One of them is the children with disorder related to eyes. They have eye fixation and eye tracking problem.
Eye Trainer equipment trains them to overcome these problems. This equipment also helps to train the cerebral palsy children. Symptoms of cerebral palsy can be as simple as having difficulty with fine motor tasks like writing or using scissors, tracking of a moving object, concentrating on an object, or as profound as being unable to maintain balance or walk.

Mentally challenged children face many problems in cognitive processing.By using technology, we can enhance these cognitive abilities. “ chitra vallari” is a specifically designed for the enhancement of following cognitive abilities:
1)Visiuo motor coordination
2)cogniotive function
3)speech training
“ chitra vallari” is a very flexible device which can record/playback voice. It contains a set of pictures and each picture can be changed according to instructor’s wish.

These Projects are being used & enjoyed by the students of USHAS institute under the supervision of Tutors & doctors & they are finding it a good aid which is helping their work!

We are working closely with them by taking their suggestions & feedback periodically & improvising the system.

Links & Photos:

1) http://www.kulkarnikarthik.com/2009/walking-tutor-excercising-aid-for-physically-disabled-children/

2) http://www.kulkarnikarthik.com/2009/chitra-vallari-project-to-enhance-enhance-these-cognitive-abilities-in-the-physicallymentally-handicapped-children-of-wwwushasorg/

3)http://www.kulkarnikarthik.com/2009/eye-rotator-eye-movement-exercise-for-physically-handicapped-children-of-wwwushasorg/

Description
In the developing world, there is a need for techonolgies that make make their lives easier. These technologies need to be inexpensive and the materials must be locally available. One of the needs is an efficient and inexpensive way to crush and deshusk grain. The grain crusher project arose from Engineers without Borders trip to Senegal. They said that the people there do have a grain crusher, but some cannot afford it due to the cost of diesel, which is the fuel used to power the crusher. Also, the hand method of mortar and pestal is very time consuming and hard on the body.

Solution
The human powered grain crusher project began in the Fall of 2006. The original design concept was for a rotary stone grinder called a quern. It was decided that the most reasonable device to fulfill the purposes of this project would be the quern which is essentially two circular stones, one on top of the other, with an axle in the center and a handle attached to the top stone. The grain to be ground is placed between the two stones and the top stone is rotated about the axle. On more advanced designs, a small hole in the top stone allows for the continual introduction of fresh grain into the space between the stones. It is very efficient, effective, and constructed of all natural materials, which require very little machining. The quern and its direct descendent, the millstone, were so effective that they were the primary means for all grain production until the late 1800’s. Some small scale modern mills, in fact, still operate using high quality, electrically-turned millstones that produce flour which is said to have better baking qualities than commercially available flour which is produced using metal grinding devices. Having chosen a design, using circular cement “paver” stones and a steel rod as an axle, a working quern was assembled and tested. It was tested by grinding various types of grains and proved to be adequate as a working model. Then the group started to contemplate what improvements could be made to a device that had existed in various forms for thousands of years. It was at this time that the realization was made that the quern had very little development potential, while keeping the cost at a reasonable level.
Having realized that making a quern would not allow any improvements beyond what already existed, the focus of the project shifted to a grinder that is produced in Uganda. The Ewing III grinder is produced in a manufacturing plant in Uganda that was set up by Compatible Technology International (CTI), an organization that helps to improve food processing operations throughout Africa. Discovering the Ewing III grinder allowed us to shift our focus from designing a complete grinder to developing improved methods to power an existing grinder. We attempted to contact CTI in an attempt to acquire a Ewing III but never received a response. As an alternative, we selected the Country Living Grain Mill as a comparable substitute to the Ewing III grinder.
For powering a grain crusher, a device is needed to convert human power to mechanical power for the grinder. Designs brainstormed and researched included bicycles or stationary bicycles modified with a chain or drive belt used to turn a crank on a personal, kitchen type grinder. The group decided that a bicycle stand for existing bicycle would be the best idea for the scope of the project. A bicycle stand was constructed with intentions to be attached to a pre existing grinder.
Of critical importance to the design was a wide range of adjustability so that the final product could fit a variety of bicycles. The stand would need to fit bikes with tire diameters ranging from 20inches to 26inches, and also with varying rear axle widths. The design also had to allow for adjustment to the tension in the drive belt, so it was decided that the grain crusher’s location would be adjustable to provide such tension. The only fixed components would be the center drive axle and its supports. Everything but the bolts and bearings is made of 6061 aluminum, because this is just a prototype. The rear bike wheel is held in place by two “pucks” with holes lathed into them so that it fits over the nut on the back axle. The support shafts that hold that puck are adjustable in height. The wheel rests on a roller once it is properly secured. The roller has 80 grit grip tape on it to ensure more friction. When the bike is pedaled, the roller turns a 3” v-belt pulley which is belted to a 12” pulley on the grain crusher itself. Slots are milled into the base so that the belt can be tensioned or replaced. An effort was also made to use as many off-the-shelf pieces as possible. This would limit machining time and product variability for the end-user. It was also proposed to include an electric motor that could be powered by solar energy.
This would give users the option of human or electric power, so if they do not have electricity, they are still able to use the device.
During the Fall 2007 semester, the objective of this project returned to the original objective with a focus on reducing cost and weight of the product. In order to accomplish this, the Spring 07 design was turned into a working model and analyzed to determine how best to reduce the cost. It was found that if the team could create its own grain crusher instead of ordering the Country Living Mill, the cost of the overall product would be greatly reduced by about $150. This change also reduced the weight of the product because the crusher has been made from aluminum instead of much heavier cast iron. The new crusher is designed to retro fit onto the previous base. It is the same width and roughly the same height. The method of grinding remains the same. The grain is fed in through the top of the grinder and is augured through a hole. That hole allows the grain to fall between two grinding plates. One plate is bolted down, and other rotates and the shear force is what grinds the grain.
Keeping the same idea of the prototype in mind, the total price of materials was a large difficulty. The pricing goes hand in hand with the conservation of materials, so when the excess material is trimmed down, the total cost of the product will have the same effect. The Spring ’07 design had a Baldor motor ($225), Grain Crusher ($375), and construction materials ($200), so the cost of this design was approximately $800 to build. For the Fall ’07 design, the cost of the materials to make the crusher itself is approximately $224, which shows that the objective of this project was reached. The new design costs $151 less than the old one, excluding the motor. The motor was also eliminated from the design, saving more on the cost of the project. This would be one of the designs taken to India for the pilot study.
This design was tested for how long it would take to grind different types of grain and roughly how much energy was required to grind each type of grain. A simple test was done by tying weights to a string and then tying the string to the shaft of the crusher. The maximum weight that we could lift at a replicable rotational speed of about 1888 RPM was 44.85 N.

Since a replicable design was available, the Rowan University Business Department showed interested in working with the project. After meeting with the group of business students to show them our drawings and explaining the concept of the project they decided to work on the marketing side of the project. At present, the business team is doing research on areas the finished project can be marketed in. They are also presenting to a group of possible entrepreneurs that might be interested in becoming involved in the project.
In addition, the design team also investigated other market sources for the product. During spring break, the Engineers Without Borders clinic team traveled to a community in Senegal. Presented with this opportunity, a list of questions was compiled for the team to ask the community that they stayed with. A great deal of information was brought back from the group. They found that there is already an existing grain crusher that can be used, but the cost of the diesel to run the crusher prohibits some of the communities from using the grain crusher. Also, the women of the community are the ones who crush the grain everyday, and to do so they wake up around 4:30 am to produce enough grain for the day. The EWB team found that if an easier and less expensive way was available for crushing grain, the members of the community would be very interested.
To provide visibility for the product being designed, a website was assembled to showcase the Grain Crusher project. It gives a brief background of the project as well as our current status and can be found at: http://users.rowan.edu/~cuccur78/My%20Web%20Sites/Grain%20Crusher/Grain%20Crusher.htm
It also gives links to the types of products used to create the grain crusher device. The site is currently up and running and has been updated recently with a photo gallery and video clip of the working model.
In the beginning of the Fall 2008 semester, it was decided that the grain crusher assembly should be made to be more reliable and user-friendly. The idea behind redesigning is that the current design may not be acceptable to all bicycles, such as mountain bikes or bikes with pegs. Also, it was decided that the grain crusher could be made cheaper and lighter, but still be very sturdy by using steel. The new design still uses pedal power to turn the crusher, but it is self contained so that you will not need to attach a bicycle. To save money, the new design is made primarily out of steel. Steel is less expensive than aluminum, but it is stronger so fewer support components will be needed. It is also chain driven instead of belt driven.
Another great benefit of this design is it not only reduced the cost of the crusher to $250 all together, the weight also dropped from about 40 lbs to 32 lbs. The design has the same grinder plates and loading system as the Fall 2007 design, except an auger was added to increase the feed rate of the grain that is being ground up. The seat has 6 adjustable height levels to make useable to a wide variety of people. The gear ratio is slightly greater than 1:1, but is still relatively easy to pedal. Energy calculations still have to be done on this design, but from observation the speed is a slower, but it is easier to pedal than the Fall 2007 design. This design does have a slight learning curve when it comes to finding the correct height and getting used to pedaling while sitting directly above the axis of pedal rotation. The cross member that runs perpendicular to the chain direction is bent 5 degrees on both ends to reduce the “rock” effect and provide greater stability.
With two designs completed, preparation began for the pilot study. One slight modification to newer design was made. In order to save money, each design was brought as luggage on the flight. The one end of the base had to be trimmed an inch and a half in order to fit the airline’s luggage size regulation. This did not affect the balance or the performance of the crusher.
Sengalpaddai was the village in which the pilot study was conducted. The first part of the pilot study involved investigating, first hand, the current methods used to grind grain. One aspect that was not known was that they use a quern to “deshusk” lentils. Dehusking is the process in which the outer skin is removed and the lentil itself is broken in half. Once they separate the skin from the grain, they grind it up using a long stick and a bowl, a dry mortar and pestle, or a wet mortar and pestle (for flour).
The next step of the pilot study was to demonstrate how to use the Fall 2008 design. Once it was assembled, and a short demonstration was given, they took turns using the crusher. Once they had done that, we repeated the process for the Fall 2007 design.
There were several major aspects that were observed. The first is that when adjusted properly, the crusher also removed the skin of the lentils very well. Also, not many of them wanted to sit on the seat and pedal, especially the women, because they did not want their clothes being caught up in the chain. Instead, they sat down behind the crusher and pedaled by hand. Another noteworthy observation is that the Fall 2007 may be a little faster, but it is difficult to collect the crushed grain. Overall, the newer design was much better received than the older design.
Once the trial was done, a roundtable discussion was had in order to receive feedback and suggestions to improve upon the design. They said that when they wanted the grain fine, it took too long so they wanted larger grinding plates to improve capacity. They also said that the grain tended to get caught up in the plates and just repeatedly cycling around, so they suggested making the plates horizontally oriented, in hopes of expelling the crushed grain faster. Another design change is to make it spin faster to increase output, but also keep in mind it needs to be easy to use. Another suggestion was to make one hand powered handle, instead of the foot pedals. They also wanted a better collection system.

Current and Future Work
Currently, the newest design is being contemplated. The objective is to incorporate as many of the suggested design changes as possible. Price is still a parameter, but since only the design drawings will be sent to India, size and weight is not as large of a concern. One change that will be implemented is larger grinding plates. Madurai Mill Stores (www.maduraimillstores.com) sells much larger grinding plates. Currently, they have yet to send us technical information about the plates.
Once the new design is completed, and a prototype built, performance calculations will be done. The energy calculations for the new design will make sure it still is relatively easy to grind the grain. Now that it is known what the villagers want in the design, the newest design should be the most ideal. If the prototype works well, the drawings will be sent the DHAN foundation where they will distribute the device to villages that need it in the effort to make them self sustaining.

Impact
By providing a better device for crushing grain, they can produce more of it for the community. Not only that, but the devices, once distributed, should provide entrepreneurial oppurtunities to the villages and people running them. This should alleviate poverty to an extent in the developing world and improve the quality of life. Once the grain crusher is finished, other prototypes will be developed that address other needs in the developing world. These prototypes should have the same result.

Description
The Nigerian state has over the years been experiencing an epileptic power supply, transmission and distribution problems. The country has an installed capacity of 15000Megawatts of electricity drawn from such sources as hydro, coal, steam, and gas generation stations, but the amount of energy available for distribution as at end of January
2009 was a pauper 1600Megawatts which cannot be compared to her large population of over 150million. This means an energy per capita of 10.67watts. This has been one of the major developmental problems of Nigeria.
Equally the conventional power stations are obsolete with little or no maintenance operations resulting to poor performance and high carbon and green house gases emission in this era when our environment is threatened by serious environmental problems caused by the emission these gases.
Furthermore, the areas connected to the national grid lack constant supply of electricity not to talk of those located in remote regions of the country who have no hope of receiving electricity. Equally it would be economically impossible to connect these areas
judging from their distance from the grid lines.
This present state of electricity supply has been dragging industrial national development to a near halt scenario as the cost of running diesel generators by manufacturing industries is on the high side coupled with the attendant pollutions (noise, air, soil). There has been cases of outages in gas supply to the gas power stations causes little or no generation in such times, also these gas stations are accompanied with high rates of pollution starting from their exploration to utilization stages. In some fractions, the restoration of electricity after an outage has become something worth celebrating over instead of a normal situation as found in other regions of the world. This has been a serious problem encountered by almost every citizen of the Nigerian state as electricity has grown to become an indispensable asset of human life in this 21st century.

Solution
The spread the light project is an initiative we developed to address the electricity problem in Nigeria from a small scale perspective. due to the abundance supply of sunlight in Nigeria a tropical country we designed a solar energy generation module which utilize this abundant sun hours ( an average of 9hrs) to provide electricity in a small settlement in the eastern part of the country. The settlement has been off the grid with no plan of being connected in the near future. we did the analysis of the requirements of setting up a 5 kilowatt solar electricity generator which will supply10 houses in the settlement with electricity to light up their houses at night and to power low power gadgets such as radio receivers so they can be kept abreast with happenings in the rest of the world . From our analysis and computation, we figured out we would need four 210 watts, 24 volts solar panels which would yield 840watts per hour amounting to 7560 watts over 9 hours. To store this energy, we used a series/ parallel connection of ten 10 volts 200ampshour deep-cycle batteries. this resulted in 5 pairs of the 12 volts batteries put together in series. thus we have five 24 volts of 200 amp hour. the five cell in parallel gives a 24 volts 1000 amp hour battery bank. This results in a total of 24000 watts inside the batteries. but in using battery banks, we are allowed to use only about 50% of the total stored energy in the bank to prevent shortening the life span of the batteries. If they use only 45% of the batteries, they have about 10800watts of usable power from the fully charged battery bank. meanwhile, the solar panels are charging the batteries at 840 watts per hour for nine hours. The batteries are connected to a 5500 watts outback single phase inverter. We knew the output efficiency from the inverter will definitely be less than 100% so we left a tolerance of 9.5% in our bid to generate 5,000 watts. The charging of the battery by the solar panels is controlled by an automatic charge controller (Tri-star 60) which opens the circuit from the panels when the batteries are fully charged. The other things we needed for the project are; cables, metal frames for the solar panels and the battery bank, metal poles to suspend the panels, sockets, low energy bulbs, lamp holders etc. With the recent interests shown by industrial giants such as Google, Intel corp., Cogentrix Energy, PCG Clean Energy and Technology Fund, Solon AG and the Nigerian Government in solar electricity, we strongly believe that the cost of solar panels and other components of the solar electricity generator will be drastically reduced enabling other communities like our beneficiary community to enjoy similar projects. We Started the project early November 2008, finished the analysis/ computational stage late December 2008, started the implementation stage on the 12th of January 2009.

Impact
Our SPREAD THE LIGHT PROJECT has the following impacts on the on the beneficiary community, her neighboring communities andhumanity in general: 1. it alienated the settlement from the darkness and bondage of uncivilization and underdevelopment by the introduction of electricity to her inhabitants. we all are aware of the edge the invention of electricity has given development and technology world over, equally this is what the settlement stand to enjoy as they will have access to many other thing as a result of our project. 2. our solar generator being a renewable energy source is in line with recent technological concerns about our environment across the globe. the module does not contribute to the emission of green house gases which threaten our existence on earth by virtue of global warming and other adjoining environmental problems. the module does not constitute noise, air and thermal pollution which are the other of the day other power generation options. 3. the module has a long life span of about 25 years with little or no maintenance required. it is equally self sustaining, easy to maintain, portable, easy to expand and can be matched with other technologies (power generation options). 4. the major raw material "solar energy" is readily available and in abundant quantity in the chosen settlement unlike fossil fuels whose exploration is both capital intensive and complex. 5. the project is in line with the Nigerian nation's 7-point millennium development agenda of becoming among the first twenty largest economy by the year 2020, the agenda has power generation as one of its major proponents. 6. Spreads the message of technology across diverse and remote areas. OUR PROJECT HAS NOT BEEN FULLY IMPLEMENTED AS AT THE TIME OF THIS SUBMISSION DUE TO SOME BOTTLENECKS FINANCIAL IN SPONSORSHIP.

Description
One of the major issues in developing countries is rural electrification. Due to socioeconomic reasons it is often not possible to implement a full-scale national electric grid. There is, however, a big demand of energy and electricity that needs to be met. Currently many remote communities are without access to electrical power and enormous effort is undertaken in order to satisfy energy needs. Walks of several hours, multiple times per week are not uncommon. Lighting is typically provided by kerosene lights and candles. Due to the long supply chain, the price of these goods has increased considerably by the time it reaches the end-user. Furthermore burning these substances indoors produces toxic smoke that is inhaled by the inhabitants. Because the dependence on sunlight the evening hours cannot be used for economic activities or education. In developing countries a significant amount of the family income is spent on its energy needs.

Solution
e.quinox has developed a solution to bring electricity to rural communities in developing countries using renewable energy. By choosing appropriate technology we were able to design a simple, cost-effective and robust solution, which is easy to maintain. The ‘Energy Kiosk’ is a solar charging station, where the local population can charge their batteries for a small fee. At home they can use the energy for lighting, phone charging and to power a radio. This concept has several benefits. Firstly it is similar to the current concept of buying energy in small portions and therefore overcomes the problem of the high initial investment for conventional solar solution. The centralization of the system allows for ‘community appliances’, appliances that require more power and give a benefit to the whole community e.g. a water purifier. This system can be easily scaled and adjusted to the community’s size and requirements. Maintenance and sustainability are the main challenge in projects like this. Using data gathered during our survey trip to Rwanda and statistical models, we are able to size the system for a small village of 50 homes in Minazi, Rwanda. Furthermore we developed a comprehensive business plan and a cash-flow model with a payback period of only a couple of years. This model ensures all the stakeholders have and economical interest in the system; this creates a win-win situation, prevents misuse and ensures sustainability. e.quinox is a non-profit organization, therefore any income from the system will be used to cover maintenance costs and reinvested in new systems. We believe that only a sustainable, economically viable solution can achieve significant impact. We are currently working towards implementing a system in Rwanda in September 2009. We are strongly supported by the Rwandan Ministry of Infrastructure and the Belgian Technical Cooperation. The concept is currently considered for nationwide implementation from 2010 onwards.

Impact
e.quinox considers electricity a key requirement for development. Providing communities with electricity brings benefits in the following areas: - Education: Light during evening hours, use of computers, access to the internet - Health: water pumps and purifier, medical equipment, fridges to store temperature-sensitive medication - Communication: cell phone charging, - Economy: by prolonging working working hours and freeing resources All of these factors combined can significantly improve the quality of life. Our business model and pricing ensures that there is an economic benefit for the community, whilst at the same time freeing resources for other activities and investments. There are many more secondary benefits to e.quinox’s approach. We aim to ‘help people to help themselves’, therefore we try to get as much local involvement as possible. By using local suppliers we ensure equipment can be readily replaced and that this process contributes to the local economy. Since e.quinox is a student-led initiative, we also put a strong focus on education. We work closely with local institutions like the Kigali Institute of Science and Technology in order to raise awareness about the issue of rural electrification, to promote renewable energy as well as to ensure a knowledge transfer. During the installation of the system we will be living with the local population and educating them about the system and electricity in general. We believe that renewable energy is a real solution in this sector. For Africa solar energy is the often first choice, but it is possible to adapt the system to the environment. By introducing this technology on a large scale both awareness and demand for green energy is created. Our business model and inherent payback make our concept extremely interesting for development agencies and governments as it allows large-scale deployment and therefore achieves a maximum impact. Currently over a billion of people worldwide are without access to electricity. e.quinox’s approach could be the solution to rural electrification.

Description
The idea of applying Robotics in agriculture is very new. The main area of application of robots in agriculture is at the cultivation stage. The agricultural industry is behind other industries in using robots because the sort of jobs involved in agriculture are not straight forward and many repetitive tasks are not exactly the same every time. In most cases, a lot of factors have to be considered (i.e.: Environmental conditions and nature of crop) before the commencement of a task.

Solution
AGROBOT is an autonomous robot which runs on solar energy. It is a 4 wheeled unmanned vehicle which can move in any direction without destroying the crops. All the units (Seed sowing device, Sprayer, Weed Remover, Pest controlling) work independently. The robot employs vision systems and a range of sensors to guide the robot along the rows and perform the task accurately. The robot can be operated in two modes (Automatic mode & Manual mode). The AGROBOT system is split into two: A Robot that will establish, care for, survey and harvest the crops according to conventional as well as latest specifications. IT-Systems for central planning and follow-up on crop related tasks that can be used for coordination and optimization between manned and unmanned vehicles. EXISTING TECHNOLOGY Vs AGROBOT At present technology there are many machines for agriculture. There are separate machines for seed sowing, fertilizer Spraying (Liquid and salt form), Ploughing, Harvesting which can be driven by a tractor. But the cost of these machines is very high which cannot be afforded by a normal farmer. Now farmers are using only tractors with rotawators for ploughing. Seed sowing, Fertilizer spraying, Weed removing is done manually. Also skilled manpower is required. In many places there is a severe manpower shortage also. Our robot can perform most of the agricultural tasks. AGROBOT can perform tasks like seed sowing, fertilizer spraying (Liquid form) and weed removing, pest controlling, cattle grazing. The main advantage of AGROBOT is, it is operated in two modes (i.e. Automatic mode and Manual mode). Manpower can be reduced. When commercially manufactured the cost will be very low and can be afforded by all farmers.

Impact
This technology can be implemented by all agricultural machinery manufacturers. This will lead to new way of agriculture and also cost of cultivation can be reduced drastically and thereby reducing the cost of food items. When commercially manufactured the cost will be very low and can be afforded by all farmers. Manual work is eliminated Manpower can be reduced Cost of production can be decreased

Description
Motivation

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Engineers have the responsibility to develop technological solutions to meet the rising needs of all people regardless of their socio economic environment. Looking at history, we can see that technology has played a prominent role in bringing significant positive changes in the living conditions of differently abled people.

With the advent of the Information Technology, solutions such as information & centralized database systems can remove the barriers faced by individuals with disabilities. Technology facilitates pathways to support the accessibility to various resources & services for the different abled individuals. While the technology exists, the challenge is finding the appropriate means of delivering the services in a cost-effective and expedient manner that can enrich the lives of these individuals.

ISHHS-An Introduction
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The Information system for Human & Health services (ISHHS) is an information system developed for use by the Government of Tamil Nadu, India. The goal is to create an online repository that collects information on the entire population of persons with disabilities in Tamil Nadu. When this information is analyzed, it will open several avenues for research and development in the rehabilitation of persons with disabilities. In addition, it will also help the government to determine the effectiveness and reach of government sponsored disability services and programs being provided to the disabled citizens of Tamil Nadu.

The creation of such an information database system is the first of its kind to be implemented in the entire nation. The Government of Tamil Nadu is the privileged flag bearer of this endeavor. The ISHHS has been successfully developed and implemented across all the 31 districts of state of Tamil Nadu over a period of 4 months. Based on the government census 2001, this system is expected to benefit the entire disabled population of approximately 1.645 Million people in Tamil Nadu. As per the latest report received from the office of the state commissionerate for disabled, Government of Tamil Nadu, ISHHS has successfully reached the milestone of covering Half a Million disabled people across the state of Tamil Nadu.

II. Goals of ISHHS Project in accordance with IEEE Core Values
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This project has demonstrated the social professional responsibility of engineers in solving problems faced by persons with disabilities which aligns perfectly with IEEE's core value of service to humanity - leveraging technology and engineering to benefit human welfare. The following section discusses how the goals and outcome of this project is in compliance with IEEE core values:

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(Please refer to the report attached for the IEEE core values Compliance model )
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1. Service to humanity

- The Goal of ISHHS is to generate reliable statistical data on disability for use by the government of Tamil Nadu in planning and execution of welfare programs aimed at improving quality of life of differently abled individuals.

- This project has created public awareness about the role of engineering profession in solving the humanitarian issues. The program has brought together many disciplines including medical doctors, special educators, social workers, government officials and students to solve a real world issue affecting millions of people.

- The following diagram depicts the significant positive changes influenced over the life of persons with disabilities using the knowledge extracted from ISHHS. Please refer to Impact on Humanity section for detailed summary on the impacts of ISHHS on Humanity.

(Please refer to the report attached for the ISHHS Impact on Humanity diagram)

2. Global focus:

Ø This Project ISHHS has solved one of the critical problems mainly obtaining the causes and types of disabilities, this information is of paramount importance in devising welfare projects in developing nation like India.

Ø The project vision to remove the barriers faced by the differently abled people is of global importance in improving the quality of life for people with disabilities.

Ø This project is a shining example of how a student member from Region 1 can devise an engineering solution that can benefit millions of differently abled people across other regions, like Region 10. This demonstrates that engineering can transcend all boundaries.

Ø It also has demonstrated how IEEE members across the globe can contribute their technical skills in solving problems faced by humanity.

3. Trust and respect:

Ø This project has created a strong partnership among IEEE, Office of State Commissionerate for Disabled, Government of Tamil Nadu, India and a Non Governmental Organization "Madhuram Narayanan Center for Exceptional Children" in solving one of the most challenging problems faced towards determining the cause and extent of disabilities.

Ø The outcome of this project will ensure that equal opportunities are created to facilitate the participation and development of differently abled persons in all sectors of society.

Ø This project has received raving appreciation from the chair person of several professional bodies like Computer society of India(CSI), Institute of Electronics and Telecommunications, India (IETE) and Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) as it demonstrates how the technical contribution from members of professional bodies like IEEE can uplift the life of an individual afflicted with a disability .This projects is being considered as a benchmark by other professional bodies to follow.

4. Growth and nurturing of the profession:

Ø The project ISHHS will be used by the State commissionerate to frame legal policies and plan programs aimed at creating avenues for education and employment for differently abled persons across the state of Tamil Nadu.

Ø This will be a boon for differently abled children residing in the rural villages across the state of Tamil Nadu, India and help parents with very little education to properly diagnose and find treatment for their children. This project shows how IEEE members can both encourage and can create opportunity for the persons with disabilities through technology.

5. Collaboration and Community building:

The program has brought together many disciplines including medical doctors, special educators, social workers, government officials and students to solve a real world issue affecting millions of people.

This project is a shining example of how interdisciplinary global communities like IEEE- a professional body, Governmental agency and Non Government Organization can collaborate with each other to solve a humanitarian issue.

The success of this project has created strong ties among IEEE members, Office of State Commissionerate for Disabled, Government of Tamil Nadu and the Non Governmental Organization "Madhuram Narayanan Center for Exceptional Children" to work together as a community in addressing barriers faced by the disabled population in Tamil Nadu.

6. Professionalism:

This project has been done as a voluntary service, which demonstrates the social responsibility of engineers in solving humanitarian issues using their technological skills.

7. Intellectual activity:

The ISHHS is a unique information system on Disabilities across India and is expected to produce significant changes in the life of persons with disabilities. It will ensure that the needs and the rights of people with disabilities are broadly considered and will value their experiences when developing programs targeted at responding to the particular needs of people with disabilities.

Milestones of ISHHS are listed below:

- High Versatility: The component such as Architecture, Design layouts are highly reusable maintaining international quality standards.
- Uniqueness: First dedicated information database system gathering information on persons with disabilities, types of disabilities and the extent of disabilities in India.
- Database Independent application will allow binding of the application with the current revision of the database at any point of time.
- Open source coding aspect will allow future development with a zero-cost factor.
- Extensibility: The software has been developed using state-of-the-art Object oriented technologies supporting easy enhancements in future.

III. Problem Definition

According to the United Nations, 10% of the world's population, approximately 650 million people, live with some kind of disability. As per United Nations Development Program (UNDP), 80% of people with disabilities live in developing countries, India is no different. According to the 2001 Census, there are about 21.9 million people affected with different forms of disabilities in India. However, certain Non Governmental Organizations (NGO) have suggested this figure to be closer to 60 million.

The existing form of disabilities ranges from Visual impairment, Hearing impairment, Locomotors and Mental disabilities. Unquestionably, addressing the barriers faced by this gifted group of people and rendering a helping hand to them and their caregivers is of paramount importance to every human.

The Information and communication technologies (ICT) tools can provides essential assistance needed by differently abled people to achieve their dream of independent living and participation in social and economic activities.

III. "Challenges Faced by the Different abled people"

An Insight in to the present scenario in the State of Tamil Nadu, India
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Ø In India, there is a huge gap in terms of accessibility to medical facilities in urban & suburban communities. This, combined with the disparity in Socio-economic levels, traditional beliefs and customs, leaves many a Special Children with disabilities undiagnosed and untreated. Even in the urban scenario, there is little concerted effort from the various care providers to tackle this issue in a comprehensive manner due to the lack of availability of accurate Disability data. The dearth on disability data has made it difficult for the Government in devising welfare programs catering to the need of the differently abled.

Ø The State of Tamil Nadu lies on the southern most part of Indian Peninsula. The present scenario in the state of Tamil Nadu, India pertaining to the creation of an information system on Disability is still in its nascent stage. The lack of information on the numbers of people with Disabilities or the types of disabilities adversely affects the planning and execution of various Governmental & Non Governmental Initiatives aimed at improving the quality of life of the differently abled people.

Ø Disability limits the access to education and employment which leads to economic and social exclusion of differently abled people. The lack of a knowledgebase on disability has adverse effects on the implementation of several Nation building projects. Most of the projects are framed with out taking in to account the needs of people with disabilities. Hence the person with disability is unable to participate fully in the development process and obtain a fair share of the benefits, and claim their rights as equal members of society. In essence, this project is helping to develop a needs analysis and specification requirements for serving a particular client, namely disabled populations.

Ø Specific Disability preventive measures can be initiated only if we have accurate disability data. The lack of this information will make it difficult to understand the prevalence pattern on disability afflicting a particular age group or a specific gender across a specific geographic region which in turn affects the planning & implementation of rehabilitation program.

Ø Also, the avenues for pursuing research in the field of rehabilitation are limited due to the nonexistence of data on disability. The various programs aimed at providing diagnoses and treatment for disabled children are subjected to prolonged delay, which in turn affects the early rehabilitation & quality of treatment needed by these special children.

Ø Thus all the development programs and policies for enabling the full participation of persons with disabilities in the everyday activities is constrained by the dearth of disability statistics and the inadequacy of the existing data. These factors directly affect the social welfare programs aimed at creating opportunities for different abled persons.

'Barriers Faced by the person with Disability in Tamil Nadu, India
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In the current scenario the absence of an information system on disability has affected the availability of reliable disability data which in turn has raised a number of issues listed below in the state of Tamil Nadu:

Ø Difficultly in establishing policies aimed at improving the quality of life for differently abled persons.
Ø Delay in the initiation of disability preventive measures such as Early Intervention and Early detection.
Ø Lack of data to monitor and evaluate the progress of various Governmental and Non Governmental Organization (NGO) initiatives on disability which in turn has affected the quality of service for the disabled individual.

Ø Lack of baseline data on disability affects the research in the field of rehabilitation.
Ø Difficultly in assessing the socio economic status of differently abled people.
Ø Making it difficult to frame new legal laws to enforce the rights of the differently abled people.
Ø Governmental and NGO's initiatives aimed at creating avenues on Education and employment for differently abled gets adversely affected.
Ø Due to the limited availability of disability statistics, the prevalence pattern cannot be clearly identified which affects the preventive measures aimed at reducing the incidence of disability.
Ø The social and physical barrier faced by the differently abled people goes unnoticed.
Ø Cause of disability could not be assessed accurately due to the limited knowledge on disability.
Ø Impact of Poverty on disability such as lack of facility to pursue education and medical treatment cannot be precisely assessed.
Ø Also, Programs specifically aimed at reducing or eliminating specific diseases and conditions cannot not be successfully designed and implemented due to unavailability of Disability data.

Impact analysis of Disability to Poverty:
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( Please refer to the project report attached for the Model)
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- In the impact analysis conducted, we have determined that the lack of data on disability affects the implementation of social welfare programs for the person with a disability; this in turn restrains the opportunities and resources available for the development of differently abled persons.

- For instance, the unavailability of precise statistics on disabilities can adversely affect the quality of any education and employment welfare program because the needs of differently abled children hailing from low socio economic background in rural villages are not represented. This will reduce their chances of participation in a welfare programs for education.
- In the long term, this prevents children with disabilities from obtaining an education and thus to securing suitable employment. This drives them more deeply into poverty and leads to cultural and social exclusion.

Solution
IV. Technological Solution towards the betterment of Humanity
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Objective of the project:
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-All these factors motivated us to design an effective information system aimed at overcoming the barriers faced by persons with disabilities, especially children and their caretakers .The aim of our humanitarian project ISHHS is to develop technological aids that will generate reliable disability data to assist the Government and Non governmental organizations in devising projects & policies to make informed strategic decisions to improve the quality of life of differently abled persons.

Salient features of ISHHS:
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The salient features of ISHHS are listed below:

1. Uniqueness:

- First dedicated information database system gathering information on persons with disabilities, types of disabilities and the extent of disabilities in India.

2. Web Based Application System:

- This feature facilitates easy accessibility at both the urban and suburban setup.

3. Extensibility:

- The software has been developed using state-of-the-art Object oriented technologies supporting easy enhancements in future.

4. Database Independent Application System:

- This feature will enable the use of any commercially available database system and thus facilitate extensibility.

5. Effective Data model supporting easily maintainability.

6. Optimized way of Data entry and Access:

- The click and Go feature reduces the time required per data entry record .The querying mechanism are highly performance fine tuned to reduce the response time.

7. Highly secured data system: To ensure the privacy of data access.

8. Open source coding aspect will allow future development with a zero-cost factor.

9. Adoption of Quality process: Models such as proper documentation and best practices were adopted in design, coding and testing process.

10. Low cost effective solution:

Since the technologies utilized are open source, it can be extended to any region across globe.

11. High Versatility: The component such as Architecture, Design layouts are highly reusable.

Adaptability of ISHHS to other regions:
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- The unique feature of ISHHS supports maximum flexibility and extensibility in implementing the system in any region across the Globe. Since, open source technology model has been adopted in developing ISHHS, future enhancements and customization to a specific geographical region can easily be carried over with development cost broght down to zero. Most of the ISHHS's components like architectures and designs are reusable which in turn enable the development of newer versions without complex coding, testing, or re-engineering of system.

- The success of ISHHS in the state of Tamil Nadu is likely to encourage all other states in India to adopt and implement an information system like ISHHS in their respective region. Thus in the long-term ISHHS has the potential to benefit the entire disabled population in India of approximately around 21.9 million disabled people (based on census 2001). Further more, the flexibility of ISHHS makes it an ideal solution for deployment in any country with minimal customization efforts and costs. For instance, customized versions of ISHHS can be developed and used effectively in countries like Africa to devise welfare programs for the differently abled people.

Project Plan and Execution
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The creation of Information system on Human and health services (ISHHS) has been implemented in three major phases:

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( Please refer to the project report attached for the Model)
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- Phase-I: Knowledge Acquisition phase involves building knowledge repository on types of disabilities and services available.
- Phase-II: Development and deployment of the Information Database system
- Phase-III: Dissemination of Information for decision making

Knowledge Acquisition Phase:
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- The most important phase of building an information system involves creation of an information rich repository. This phase plays a critical role in building the information system as it identifies and establishes the functionality of the system, which formulates the basis for design and development. This phase encompasses of two sub phases namely, the Identification phase & survey phase.
Identification Phase:

- An effective Information system can be built only if the end users are properly identified and the goals of the system are clearly established. In the Identification phase, we have gathered the expectation and needs of the differently abled people from the state commission for the disabled as well as NGO and schools for special children and then identified those agencies which will require this information.

Primary users of ISHHS:
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In our analysis, we have identified the following primary users of the ISHHS along with their usage need on disability data:

- Researchers, to pursue research in the field of rehabilitation.
- The general public, to create public awareness on the cause of disability.
- Policy makers, to formulate policy in improving the living condition of people with disability.
- Associations and Non Governmental organizations (NGO) , to frame disability preventive measure.
- Trade unions, to act together to create avenues for employing people with disability.
- Government agencies, to formulate and implement legal laws and social welfare programs for disabled person.
- International organizations, to assist the respective government in framing rehabilitation policies and to provide a global forum to share the information on disabilities.
- Health service organizations and providers, to organize medical and rehabilitation programs to assist the disabled.
- Industry, to help foster their corporate social awareness programs.
- Device and equipment manufacturers, to design and market devices that caters to the needs of disabled people.
- Employers, to assist in framing disabled friendly organization culture.
- Disability consumer groups, to provide legal assistance to disabled people in practicing their rights.
- Insurance agencies, to help them in framing special medical insurance programs for person with disability.
- Education planners, to develop curriculum that will help the special child in improving their life skills and create avenues for educating the disability person from low socio economic.
- Media, to create awareness on disability.

Importance of Data on Disability:
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Once the end users are identified, it is important to identify their needs and expectation along with their usage view of the disability data. The identification phase will yield answers to the various questions pertaining to the various needs of the disability data .

Based on this analysis, we have identified the following key areas where ISHHS will be utilized to plan for the welfare of the differently abled people:

- Planning of new Legal laws & Procedures
- Project and planning evaluation
- Marketing
- Policy development
- Advocacy and political action
- Planning and implementation of disability preventive measures
- Tracking and enhancing the participation of persons with disability
- Improving services
- Creating or improving standards

Thus the identification phase is of paramount importance, as it establishes the goal of the survey phase.

ISHHS: Survey Phase
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Once the users and their needs are identified, the core activity of the knowledge acquisition phase, the process of data collection has been conducted. In ISHHS, the survey model has been used as the instrument in implementing the data collection process.

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( Please refer to the project report attached for the Model)
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The survey model involves various stages illustrated above. Each of these stages plays a critical role in framing the knowledge rules. The ISHHS knowledge acquisition phase was implemented through channels such as Governmental agencies and Non Governmental organizations. The data gathered in the survey phase formulates the knowledgebase of ISHHS's online repository. Once the knowledge acquisition phase is completed, it gives leads to the development of system architecture.

V. ISHHS Architectures
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ISHHS-A Bird eye's View of the system

The ISHHS is a Client Server based application developed using the Java/J2EE Technology. As shown in the Technological grid, the ISHHS comprises of three layers of components:

- Client end components
- Server end components
- Knowledge repository

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( Please refer to the project report attached for the Model)

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The end user interacts with the ISHHS through the client end screens designed using the tiles technology. The client end components contains validation rules that are implemented using the client side scripting languages such as JSP to facilitate the validation of end-user's input.

The ISHHS has been uniquely designed in such a way that most of data driven operations are implemented as "Click & Go - Mouse operations" rather than the conventional keyboard based operations. The reason behind this unique feature is to minimize the time required per record entry. This approach is time and cost effective since it has significantly helped the data entry team in avoiding typological errors and has significantly reduced the rework time for re-entry.

ISHHS Application Architecture
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( Please refer to the project report attached for the Model)
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- As shown in the application architecture of ISHHS, the end user interacts with the ISHHS through the interactive front end screens. The validation engine evaluates the authenticity of the user's credential in accessing the application system. On successful validation, user gains access to the application system module. The application system module comprises of nine process stream modules. Each of the process stream modules has been implemented using a separate interface screen. These screens act as interface to facilitate interaction among the end user and application module. Usually, user type in the information gathered from the survey forms in to the respective process area screen module. Components like drop down list, Text box in each screen has a validation rule attached to it which get executed for each entry to ensure that data in proper format is fed in to the ISHSS knowledge base repository.

- The application module resides and executes in the server end. It forwards the successfully validated data stream for storage in to the database table present in the database server. The application module and database server interacts in a client server mechanism.

- The ISHHS application module sends information which the database server stores in the appropriate tables. Similarly when the ISHHS knowledge management (a sub module with in application module) requests specific information, the database server executes a conditional query and responds with the interested data as output.

ISHHS Technology Grid
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- One of most important responsibility of an engineer is to deliver cost effective solution. In development of ISHHS, immense care was taken to achieve this commitment. A unique feature of ISHHS is its technology grid. The ISHHS has been developed by making use of open source technological tools, which has zeroed in the cost of development and maintenance of the system.

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( Please refer to the project report attached for the Model)
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- As Shown in the technology grid, the Client end makes use of technologies such as tiles, Html and browser. The server end contains the ISHHS application that execute over Tom cat server, while the database end has been implemented using My SQL 5.0.

- The development of such a system will be a boon in developing country like India since the cost factor for development has been brought down to zero. This project has set an example how students and professionals can invest their time in developing low cost effective technological solutions that benefits millions of disabled people. The success of this project will further motivate and facilitate the participation of professionals' in future humanitarian projects.

ISHHS-Software Development Life Cycle
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The ISHHS has been developed using the software development life cycle models such as "the Iterative Waterfall and Spiral Models".

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( Please refer to the project report attached for the Model)

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The following phases were adopted during the course of development of "ISHHS".

- Analysis phase: In which the Government requirements were transformed in to System requirements.
- Design phase: The system requirements framed earlier were converted to design models like Application Architectures and Data models.
- Construction phase: The system has been constructed using object oriented technology on the basis of the design framed earlier.
- Testing phase: The software has been validated against the test cases established during the analysis and requirement gathering phase.
- Deployment phase: This involves the installation of the developed software in the target client system.
- Maintenance & Support phase: Any new emerging requirements and fixes will be introduced in to the system.

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( Please refer to the Appendix in the project report attached for Design Model, Application Interfaces and Database Modeling)
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Impact

VI. Impact on the Life of Differently abled people
- Insurance agencies can frame special medical insurance programs for person with disability.

- Education planners can utilize the disability data to develop new educational programs for assisting the special children in improving their life skills. Similarly, the existing curriculum can be updated so as to create avenues for educating the disability person from low socio economic.

- Media can utilize the data in creating awareness on disability about the possible causes and their respective preventive measures available in a specific region.

VII. Results
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Impact of ISHHS on policy formulation
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Some of the specific benefits yielded from using the knowledge extracted from ISHHS in the domain of policy formulation are listed below:

1. Differences in rates of disability between males and females:

The information on Gender differences will helps to identify the presence of discrimination against a particular gender in availing disability services. This data will help the government in framing policies to facilitate equal access to services. Also; this information would assist in determining the cause of disability like accident related injuries in the working environment. This information will provide the basis information supporting the formulation of policy on safety measures in the work place.

2. Disability Prevention-data on the cause of disability

The identification of the cause of the disability will help the policy makers in planning and execution of preventive programs appropriate for their respective districts. In the State of Tamil Nadu, the following underlying causes of disability have been identified through the ISHHS analysis:

- Malnutrition, diseases,
- Congenital factors,
- accidents,
- Inadequate hygiene,
- Lack of access to a health care system,
- Exposure to chemical substances,
- stresses and others.

Most of these causes of disability are preventable, if strategies that focus on these areas are employed. The ISHHS has generated appropriate knowledge required in planning and execution of such preventive strategies to reduce the incidence of Disability.

3. Differences in service utilization between the populations with and without disabilities

This information will help in formulation of policies to increase accessibility of population with disabilities in different services and facilities, such as mandatory provision of ramps instead of stairs for those on wheelchairs.

4. Identification of physical and social barriers

Information on what types and causes of restrictions persons with Disabilities are facing related to basic services is useful for determining the environmental and social barriers that most urgently need to be addressed. This information also help the government in identification of the type of assistive device most needed is important for the best allocation of funds.

5. Access to and participation in education and employment

The data may provide information on how persons with disabilities are integrated with the educational system and the labor market. This is a critical issue related to disability policy.

6. Legal Rights & laws to support person with disability:

Discrimination against persons with disabilities, and unwillingness to bear the costs of creating a more accessible environment e.g. at schools or workstations are key obstacles to the improvement of the lives of persons with disabilities.

7. Improving the infrastructure and resource facilities towards the cause of disability

Disability data may encourage governments to construct better facilities or provide tax incentives to schools or firms that accept persons with disabilities.

8. Impact of Poverty and Information on Income & type of Disability

Poverty is one of the causes of disability. This is because the poor are more exposed to dangerous working and living conditions, including lack of access to healthcare facilities, and poor nutrition, among others.

On the other hand, disability can also be a cause of poverty. This is particularly true if the persons with disabilities, and their caretakers, do not have the capacity to generate income for the family. More over, there may also be financial constraints brought about by the expensive medical treatment or assistive devices needed by persons with disabilities. The collection of Data on income and information related to the socio economic status of the household may provide insight into how poverty can affect disability and vice-versa.

Thus the information from ISHHS will assists the Government of Tamil Nadu in framing polices and programs towards the welfare of the differently abled people.

VIII. Implementation status
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ISHHS - Implementation Architecture
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( Please refer to the project report attached for the Model)

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This model explains the project planning and execution model of ISHHS project. As per the Census of India-2001, the State of Tamil Nadu comprises of 31 districts with a total disabled population of approximately 16,42,497. The office of the state commissionerate for disabled along with various Governmental agencies have adopted the survey model explained earlier in implementing the knowledge acquisition phase of ISHHS. Each of the 31 districts has a Governmental agency named "District Rehabilitation center" that look after the welfare of the disability population in their respective region.

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( Please refer to the project report attached for the Model)
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As show in the figure, the networks of the "District Rehabilitation officers" were used as the instrument in the gathering information during the survey phase. The development of ISHHS was carried in parallel to ensure the availability of the information system at the end of survey phase. Later on, the data collected from the survey process has been successfully fed in to the ISHHS .The data available in ISHHS is being used effectively in planning and implementation of different initiatives aimed at the betterment of the differently abled population. It also provides an effective mechanism to closely monitor and evaluate the on-going welfare projects on disability.

Currents status
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- The ISHHS has been successfully developed and implemented across all the 31 districts of state of Tamil Nadu over a period of 4 months. Based on the government census, this system is expected to benefit the entire disabled population of approximately 1.645 Million people in Tamil Nadu.

- According to the latest report received from the NGO MNC and office of the state commissionerate, ISHHS has reached the milestone of covering Half a Million disabled people across the state of Tamil Nadu.

- The Stage- I of the project that involves the completion of data entry is likely to be completed by April 2009 by which all the person with disabilities in the state of Tamil Nadu will be covered.

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( Please refer to the project report attached for the Model)
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-It is to be noted that individuals who are afflicted with disability and has not availed any benefits from Governmental initiatives either due to lack of awareness on their rights or due to a hesitation on social grounds are successfully being identified during the survey phase of ISHHS. Thus ISHHS is significantly helping the state commissionerate to identify the hidden disability population across the state.

- The hidden disability population will eventually be incorporated in to ISHHS disability knowledgebase repository, so that ISHHS will reflect and generate accurate disability statistical data. By utilizing the hidden population data, Government can enforce action plan to enable them to participate in various social welfare program for disabled and enable them to experience equal opportunity in the society.

- The Stage-II of the project involves designing of data mining techniques for extracting appropriate knowledge from the knowledge base has been initiated and is expected to be completed by May 2009.

ISHHS - Half a Million Coverage Landmark
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- As per the latest information from the state commissionerate for Disabled, Government of Tamil Nadu , ISHHS has successfully covered approximately about 5,84,000 disabled people across the state of Tamil Nadu and has obtained the achievement of covering" Half a million disabled people in a short period of time.

- Statistics on ISHHS Implementation: District wise usage
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( Please refer to the project report attached for the results)
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- Notification from NGO MNC and State Commissionerate on "ISHHS Half Million Coverage Mark".

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( Please refer to the project report attached for the results)
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Total Disabled Population & ISHHS Implementation and usage-Statistics as of Feb 3, 2009

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( Please refer to the project report attached for the results)
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ISHHS Project Metrics and Time line Using Gantt chart

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( Please refer to the project report attached for the project Time line).

Adaptability of ISHHS to other regions:
-------------------------------------

- The unique feature of ISHHS supports maximum flexibility and extensibility in implementing the system in any region across the Globe. Since, open source technology model has been adopted in developing ISHHS, future enhancements and customization to a specific geographical region can easily be carried over with zeroed in development cost. Most of the ISHHS's components like architectures and designs are reusable which in turn enable the development of newer versions without complex coding, testing, or re-engineering of system.

- The success of the ISHHS in the state of Tamil Nadu is likely to encourage all other the states in India to adopt and implement an information system like ISHHS in their respective state. Thus in the long-term ISHHS has the potential to benefit the entire disabled population in India of approximately around 21.9 million disabled people (based on census 2001). Further, the flexibility of ISHHS makes it an ideal solution for deployment in any country with minimal customization1 efforts and costs. For instance, customized versions of ISHHS can be developed and used effectively in countries like Africa to devise welfare programs for the differently abled people.

VIII. Conclusion
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- A sharper focus on disability issues, paying attention to the rights of those directly affected and the diversity of their experience, will help achieve greater equality of rights and opportunities for people with disabilities. Special people are assets because in spite of their problems, they radiate confidence and inspire all of us. This project is a shining example of how technology can bring in significant positive changes in the life of the person with a disability. This project has set an example on how students can invest their time in contributing technological solutions for the benefit of Humanity. This successful venture will definitely inspire and motivate the participation of young professionals in future humanitarian projects.

X. Supporting Evidences

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(Please refer to the project report attached for the following evidences:

1) Appreciation from Government of Tamilnadu
2) Feedback from the state Commissioner for disabled, Government of Tamilnadu, India on ISHHS implementation and features.
3) Report on ISHHS Milestone celebration event along with photographs
4) Press articles
5) Appendix on design models
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Description

The issues faced by health services, primarily in developing and under-developed nations, are multiple. The following issues are at the core focus of Nidaan:
1. Lack of health facilities for the poor: Health facilities are a primary instrument for the well being of a society. Health is one for the key factors in determining the progress in a society. Even in developing countries like India and China, health facilities are flooded with patients seeking medical help. Timely care and access to health facilities for the poor is a huge concern pestering the governments of the developing and the under developed countries.
2. Fallacious treatment due to migration: Migration of Labor is one of the common phenomena witnessed in developing and under developed countries. In the search of better monetary support and higher financial standing in the society migration of labors from the villages towards cities is seen quite often. This is a correctly termed as "Upward Social Movement". Land is often cheap in the suburbs as a result people in the lower income groups are forced to take up homes in the suburbs.
Migrating Labor from rural areas to cities (based on the season) are termed as "Migratory seasonal labor". People who come from far off to work in the cities are forced to live in slums as such migrating from their permanent place residence. This results in total loss of medical data that is kept in any form. This result is loss of any form family history that could have been kept. Family History often forma key in diagnosis of diseases as such for the poor slow diagnosis is a primary result of migration.
3. Lack of an effective Medical Supply Dispatch System: Medical Infrastructure in developing countries is already in a distressed state but to worsen the situation, medical supply dispatch systems are crippled by corruption. Also, the dispatch systems are not need based but rather schedule based. This causes many rural health centers (who cater to the BPL) being left lacking proper medicines, vaccines etc. This is despite the government spending huge amounts in the procurement of the medicines. The issue is not that these items are not present but that they are not timely and effectively distributed.
4. Lack of an Epidemic Tracking System: Epidemics are a harsh reality in third world countries in Asia and Africa. Cases of diseases that are growing to an epidemic scale are not timely reported due to lack of systems to monitor the same. BPL are the worst affected in this case. But, it is not only required that such a system should be built but it should also respect the privacy of all the citizens of the state.
5. Lack of a system for detecting Insurance frauds: In developing countries where monetary standing has a hand over moral standings frauds are very much prevalent. Insurance agencies have to resort to harsher measures to resolve Insurance conflicts and prevent frauds. To tackle this problem it is a prime requirement that an unbiased system be built and should be transparent to not only the Insurance Companies but should also be hassle free to the end users, who claim insurances.

Solution
THE IDEA Nidaan is a project that intends to address the healthcare needs of people at the grass roots. The system will manage the Patient ↔ Doctor ↔ Pathology ↔ Hospital ↔ Government ↔ Insurance chain in the following manner:

1. Patient: These are the main stake holders of the system since they form the bulk of the end-user category. The system will help them to manage their current medical portfolio along with their medical history. They will have ease of access of medical facilities at the member hospitals. The patients will be guaranteed complete pertaining to any patient whatsoever will be released in any form by the member organizations. The patients have been classified into two categories as per their insurance cover. The patients have been classified into three categories. The regular users have an option to sign up for exclusive 'Premium Services' by paying a higher insurance premium. Part of the revenue generated from this scheme would be re-channelized into paying the premium for the BPL patient's treatment. The patients with this insurance cover will have exclusive benefits and ease of access to maternity care and emergency services. The BPL patients will be provided the basic cover for a predetermined list of diseases that are classified as being high risk by the Government. The premium for these patients will be covered by the government in part and via the revenue generated from higher insurance paying users (Premium Users). (see section 2.2.1)

2. Hospital: Member hospitals of this scheme will have to create electronic records for the incoming patients on Nidaan. The member will also transfer records to another member hospital on demand by the patient.

3. Government: The Government will be able to keep a track of medical data of the population in general and alerts will be generated in case of epidemics in sight by Nidaan's Epidemic Tracking System. The Government acts as a regulatory body for the system. All the member hospitals will work in a frame set by the Government. The insurance companies will also form a consortium under the rules set by the Government. The Government will also be a layer coordinating between the insurance companies and the patients. They will also monitor transfer of medicines to various hospitals as such regulating drug consumption in a state with the help of Nidaan's medical dispatch system. (see section 2.2.2)

4. Insurance: They will have a larger patient cover and better profits. With Nidaan, the Insurance companies will have transparent mechanisms for settling insurance claims and hassle free mechanisms for insurance. Nidaan will also help prevent insurance frauds (see section 2.2.5) and will also help the Insurance companies to have a better patient network.

For details of Nidaan's architecture and design refer section 2.2 of the attached document.

Impact
Nidaan, at its core, strives to solve the problem of providing effective healthcare to the underprivileged. In developing countries like India and under-developed countries, healthcare is one of the primary concerns. Currently majority of the healthcare related data is either stacked away in files or is not recorded at all. For the people living below the poverty line (BPL), the situation is even worse. Nidaan guarantees easier access of health services to the under privileged. Extension plans in Nidaan include services like child growth monitoring services free of cost maternity care for the BPL.
Our system will result in data management of loads of medical data generated every day. Not only will the system be managing huge volumes of data, but will also be providing data on call as and when required. The issue of huge amounts of data generation is tackled with the help of a very highly distributed system design. The automation of the medical book keeping will help easier diagnosis for doctors. The doctors will have the complete medical history of a patient once a patient requests a treatment from a doctor. The parameters available at the disposal of doctors will be optimal and as such probability of easier and earlier diagnosis of the correct disease will increase. Tracking of genetic diseases will become easier by using Nidaan. Still, none of the features in Nidaan compromise on the privacy of the patient.
Nidaan is more flexible and has also taken into account the problems faced by the migrating labors. Nidaan allows easy and flexible transfer of patient records from one place to another with minimal human intervention. This enables a person to get the right treatment irrespective of his/her location.

The mechanism ensuring a free and hassle free service to the BPL is as a result of an insurance that is provided to BPL by the Government through a conglomerate of insurance firms. Benefits for the insurance firms include a greater number of people covered with a fixed and consistent source of premiums, since the premiums are paid by the government. Also Nidaan's premium services will result in greater revenue for the insurance firms, part of which can be used to provide insurance premium rebates for the BPL people. The insurance premium is paid by the Government.

Nidaan aims to network not only the Public Sector Medical Facilities, but also the Private Sector Medical Facilities. Medical support in private facilities will be covered by the insurance agencies. The distribution of load of patients is distributed to a larger number of medical facilities. This will result in a reduction of stress on government facilities. This will also ensure more effective use of medical facilities.

Nidaan will monitor the medicines being supplied to the medical facilities. The medicines being supplied to the medical facilities will be monitored at a central system. This will prevent misuse of drugs by corrupt officials in the medical system. This will cause a reduction in the corruption the supply chain of drugs by the government. This will also result in effective distribution of drugs.

The centrally located Government Server will be notified at regular intervals of the number of cases of various diseases being reported in the various medical facilities. This system will also notify the government administrator in case a particular disease increases beyond a certain limit. This will also keep track and regulate the medical dispatch system as per the diseases increasing or decreasing in a particular area. Thus an artificially Intelligent System will be controlling the Medicines Dispatched based on the incoming data coming into the Epidemic Detection System. This system will also put in place early bird procedures that the government can put to limit outbreak of diseases.

**All the images present in the attached document have been taken by our team members during field trips conducted to study the medical infrastructure present in Gujarat, India.

Description

Motivation
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Engineers have the responsibility to develop technological solutions to meet the rising needs of all people regardless of their socio economic environment. Looking at history, we can see that technology has played a prominent role in bringing significant positive changes in the living conditions of differently abled people.

With the advent of the Information Technology, solutions such as information & centralized database systems can remove the barriers faced by individuals with disabilities. Technology facilitates pathways to support the accessibility to various resources & services for the different abled individuals. While the technology exists, the challenge is finding the appropriate means of delivering the services in a cost-effective and expedient manner that can enrich the lives of these individuals.

ISHHS-An Introduction
----------------------

The Information system for Human & Health services (ISHHS) is an information system developed for use by the Government of Tamil Nadu, India. The goal is to create an online repository that collects information on the entire population of persons with disabilities in Tamil Nadu. When this information is analyzed, it will open several avenues for research and development in the rehabilitation of persons with disabilities. In addition, it will also help the government to determine the effectiveness and reach of government sponsored disability services and programs being provided to the disabled citizens of Tamil Nadu.

The creation of such an information database system is the first of its kind to be implemented in the entire nation. The Government of Tamil Nadu is the privileged flag bearer of this endeavor. The ISHHS has been successfully developed and implemented across all the 31 districts of state of Tamil Nadu over a period of 4 months. Based on the government census 2001, this system is expected to benefit the entire disabled population of approximately 1.645 Million people in Tamil Nadu. As per the latest report received from the office of the state commissionerate for disabled, Government of Tamil Nadu, ISHHS has successfully reached the milestone of covering Half a Million disabled people across the state of Tamil Nadu.

II. Goals of ISHHS Project in accordance with IEEE Core Values
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This project has demonstrated the social professional responsibility of engineers in solving problems faced by persons with disabilities which aligns perfectly with IEEE's core value of service to humanity - leveraging technology and engineering to benefit human welfare. The following section discusses how the goals and outcome of this project is in compliance with IEEE core values:

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(Please refer to the report attached for the IEEE core values Compliance model )
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1. Service to humanity

- The Goal of ISHHS is to generate reliable statistical data on disability for use by the government of Tamil Nadu in planning and execution of welfare programs aimed at improving quality of life of differently abled individuals.

- This project has created public awareness about the role of engineering profession in solving the humanitarian issues. The program has brought together many disciplines including medical doctors, special educators, social workers, government officials and students to solve a real world issue affecting millions of people.

- The following diagram depicts the significant positive changes influenced over the life of persons with disabilities using the knowledge extracted from ISHHS. Please refer to Impact on Humanity section for detailed summary on the impacts of ISHHS on Humanity.

(Please refer to the report attached for the ISHHS Impact on Humanity diagram)

2. Global focus:

Ø This Project ISHHS has solved one of the critical problems mainly obtaining the causes and types of disabilities, this information is of paramount importance in devising welfare projects in developing nation like India.

Ø The project vision to remove the barriers faced by the differently abled people is of global importance in improving the quality of life for people with disabilities.

Ø This project is a shining example of how a student member from Region 1 can devise an engineering solution that can benefit millions of differently abled people across other regions, like Region 10. This demonstrates that engineering can transcend all boundaries.

Ø It also has demonstrated how IEEE members across the globe can contribute their technical skills in solving problems faced by humanity.

3. Trust and respect:

Ø This project has created a strong partnership among IEEE, Office of State Commissionerate for Disabled, Government of Tamil Nadu, India and a Non Governmental Organization "Madhuram Narayanan Center for Exceptional Children" in solving one of the most challenging problems faced towards determining the cause and extent of disabilities.

Ø The outcome of this project will ensure that equal opportunities are created to facilitate the participation and development of differently abled persons in all sectors of society.

Ø This project has received raving appreciation from the chair person of several professional bodies like Computer society of India(CSI), Institute of Electronics and Telecommunications, India (IETE) and Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) as it demonstrates how the technical contribution from members of professional bodies like IEEE can uplift the life of an individual afflicted with a disability .This projects is being considered as a benchmark by other professional bodies to follow.

4. Growth and nurturing of the profession:

Ø The project ISHHS will be used by the State commissionerate to frame legal policies and plan programs aimed at creating avenues for education and employment for differently abled persons across the state of Tamil Nadu.

Ø This will be a boon for differently abled children residing in the rural villages across the state of Tamil Nadu, India and help parents with very little education to properly diagnose and find treatment for their children. This project shows how IEEE members can both encourage and can create opportunity for the persons with disabilities through technology.

5. Collaboration and Community building:

The program has brought together many disciplines including medical doctors, special educators, social workers, government officials and students to solve a real world issue affecting millions of people.

This project is a shining example of how interdisciplinary global communities like IEEE- a professional body, Governmental agency and Non Government Organization can collaborate with each other to solve a humanitarian issue.

The success of this project has created strong ties among IEEE members, Office of State Commissionerate for Disabled, Government of Tamil Nadu and the Non Governmental Organization "Madhuram Narayanan Center for Exceptional Children" to work together as a community in addressing barriers faced by the disabled population in Tamil Nadu.

6. Professionalism:

This project has been done as a voluntary service, which demonstrates the social responsibility of engineers in solving humanitarian issues using their technological skills.

7. Intellectual activity:

The ISHHS is a unique information system on Disabilities across India and is expected to produce significant changes in the life of persons with disabilities. It will ensure that the needs and the rights of people with disabilities are broadly considered and will value their experiences when developing programs targeted at responding to the particular needs of people with disabilities.

Milestones of ISHHS are listed below:

- High Versatility: The component such as Architecture, Design layouts are highly reusable maintaining international quality standards.
- Uniqueness: First dedicated information database system gathering information on persons with disabilities, types of disabilities and the extent of disabilities in India.
- Database Independent application will allow binding of the application with the current revision of the database at any point of time.
- Open source coding aspect will allow future development with a zero-cost factor.
- Extensibility: The software has been developed using state-of-the-art Object oriented technologies supporting easy enhancements in future.

III. Problem Definition

According to the United Nations, 10% of the world's population, approximately 650 million people, live with some kind of disability. As per United Nations Development Program (UNDP), 80% of people with disabilities live in developing countries, India is no different. According to the 2001 Census, there are about 21.9 million people affected with different forms of disabilities in India. However, certain Non Governmental Organizations (NGO) have suggested this figure to be closer to 60 million.

The existing form of disabilities ranges from Visual impairment, Hearing impairment, Locomotors and Mental disabilities. Unquestionably, addressing the barriers faced by this gifted group of people and rendering a helping hand to them and their caregivers is of paramount importance to every human.

The Information and communication technologies (ICT) tools can provides essential assistance needed by differently abled people to achieve their dream of independent living and participation in social and economic activities.

III. "Challenges Faced by the Different abled people"

An Insight in to the present scenario in the State of Tamil Nadu, India
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 In India, there is a huge gap in terms of accessibility to medical facilities in urban & suburban communities. This, combined with the disparity in Socio-economic levels, traditional beliefs and customs, leaves many a Special Children with disabilities undiagnosed and untreated. Even in the urban scenario, there is little concerted effort from the various care providers to tackle this issue in a comprehensive manner due to the lack of availability of accurate Disability data. The dearth on disability data has made it difficult for the Government in devising welfare programs catering to the need of the differently abled.

 The State of Tamil Nadu lies on the southern most part of Indian Peninsula. The present scenario in the state of Tamil Nadu, India pertaining to the creation of an information system on Disability is still in its nascent stage. The lack of information on the numbers of people with Disabilities or the types of disabilities adversely affects the planning and execution of various Governmental & Non Governmental Initiatives aimed at improving the quality of life of the differently abled people.

 Disability limits the access to education and employment which leads to economic and social exclusion of differently abled people. The lack of a knowledgebase on disability has adverse effects on the implementation of several Nation building projects. Most of the projects are framed with out taking in to account the needs of people with disabilities. Hence the person with disability is unable to participate fully in the development process and obtain a fair share of the benefits, and claim their rights as equal members of society. In essence, this project is helping to develop a needs analysis and specification requirements for serving a particular client, namely disabled populations.

 Specific Disability preventive measures can be initiated only if we have accurate disability data. The lack of this information will make it difficult to understand the prevalence pattern on disability afflicting a particular age group or a specific gender across a specific geographic region which in turn affects the planning & implementation of rehabilitation program.

 Also, the avenues for pursuing research in the field of rehabilitation are limited due to the nonexistence of data on disability. The various programs aimed at providing diagnoses and treatment for disabled children are subjected to prolonged delay, which in turn affects the early rehabilitation & quality of treatment needed by these special children.

 Thus all the development programs and policies for enabling the full participation of persons with disabilities in the everyday activities is constrained by the dearth of disability statistics and the inadequacy of the existing data. These factors directly affect the social welfare programs aimed at creating opportunities for different abled persons.

'Barriers Faced by the person with Disability in Tamil Nadu, India
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In the current scenario the absence of an information system on disability has affected the availability of reliable disability data which in turn has raised a number of issues listed below in the state of Tamil Nadu:

 Difficultly in establishing policies aimed at improving the quality of life for differently abled persons.
 Delay in the initiation of disability preventive measures such as Early Intervention and Early detection.
 Lack of data to monitor and evaluate the progress of various Governmental and Non Governmental Organization (NGO) initiatives on disability which in turn has affected the quality of service for the disabled individual.

 Lack of baseline data on disability affects the research in the field of rehabilitation.
 Difficultly in assessing the socio economic status of differently abled people.
 Making it difficult to frame new legal laws to enforce the rights of the differently abled people.
 Governmental and NGO's initiatives aimed at creating avenues on Education and employment for differently abled gets adversely affected.
 Due to the limited availability of disability statistics, the prevalence pattern cannot be clearly identified which affects the preventive measures aimed at reducing the incidence of disability.
 The social and physical barrier faced by the differently abled people goes unnoticed.
 Cause of disability could not be assessed accurately due to the limited knowledge on disability.
 Impact of Poverty on disability such as lack of facility to pursue education and medical treatment cannot be precisely assessed.
 Also, Programs specifically aimed at reducing or eliminating specific diseases and conditions cannot not be successfully designed and implemented due to unavailability of Disability data.

Impact analysis of Disability to Poverty:
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( Please refer to the project report attached for the Model)
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- In the impact analysis conducted, we have determined that the lack of data on disability affects the implementation of social welfare programs for the person with a disability; this in turn restrains the opportunities and resources available for the development of differently abled persons.

- For instance, the unavailability of precise statistics on disabilities can adversely affect the quality of any education and employment welfare program because the needs of differently abled children hailing from low socio economic background in rural villages are not represented. This will reduce their chances of participation in a welfare programs for education.
- In the long term, this prevents children with disabilities from obtaining an education and thus to securing suitable employment. This drives them more deeply into poverty and leads to cultural and social exclusion.

Solution
IV. Technological Solution towards the betterment of Humanity
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Objective of the project:
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-All these factors motivated us to design an effective information system aimed at overcoming the barriers faced by persons with disabilities, especially children and their caretakers .The aim of our humanitarian project ISHHS is to develop technological aids that will generate reliable disability data to assist the Government and Non governmental organizations in devising projects & policies to make informed strategic decisions to improve the quality of life of differently abled persons.

Salient features of ISHHS:
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The salient features of ISHHS are listed below:

1. Uniqueness:

- First dedicated information database system gathering information on persons with disabilities, types of disabilities and the extent of disabilities in India.

2. Web Based Application System:

- This feature facilitates easy accessibility at both the urban and suburban setup.

3. Extensibility:

- The software has been developed using state-of-the-art Object oriented technologies supporting easy enhancements in future.

4. Database Independent Application System:

- This feature will enable the use of any commercially available database system and thus facilitate extensibility.

5. Effective Data model supporting easily maintainability.

6. Optimized way of Data entry and Access:

- The click and Go feature reduces the time required per data entry record .The querying mechanism are highly performance fine tuned to reduce the response time.

7. Highly secured data system: To ensure the privacy of data access.

8. Open source coding aspect will allow future development with a zero-cost factor.

9. Adoption of Quality process: Models such as proper documentation and best practices were adopted in design, coding and testing process.

10. Low cost effective solution:

Since the technologies utilized are open source, it can be extended to any region across globe.

11. High Versatility: The component such as Architecture, Design layouts are highly reusable.

Adaptability of ISHHS to other regions:
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- The unique feature of ISHHS supports maximum flexibility and extensibility in implementing the system in any region across the Globe. Since, open source technology model has been adopted in developing ISHHS, future enhancements and customization to a specific geographical region can easily be carried over with development cost broght down to zero. Most of the ISHHS's components like architectures and designs are reusable which in turn enable the development of newer versions without complex coding, testing, or re-engineering of system.

- The success of ISHHS in the state of Tamil Nadu is likely to encourage all other states in India to adopt and implement an information system like ISHHS in their respective region. Thus in the long-term ISHHS has the potential to benefit the entire disabled population in India of approximately around 21.9 million disabled people (based on census 2001). Further more, the flexibility of ISHHS makes it an ideal solution for deployment in any country with minimal customization efforts and costs. For instance, customized versions of ISHHS can be developed and used effectively in countries like Africa to devise welfare programs for the differently abled people.

Project Plan and Execution
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The creation of Information system on Human and health services (ISHHS) has been implemented in three major phases:

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( Please refer to the project report attached for the Model)
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- Phase-I: Knowledge Acquisition phase involves building knowledge repository on types of disabilities and services available.
- Phase-II: Development and deployment of the Information Database system
- Phase-III: Dissemination of Information for decision making

Knowledge Acquisition Phase:
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- The most important phase of building an information system involves creation of an information rich repository. This phase plays a critical role in building the information system as it identifies and establishes the functionality of the system, which formulates the basis for design and development. This phase encompasses of two sub phases namely, the Identification phase & survey phase.
Identification Phase:

- An effective Information system can be built only if the end users are properly identified and the goals of the system are clearly established. In the Identification phase, we have gathered the expectation and needs of the differently abled people from the state commission for the disabled as well as NGO and schools for special children and then identified those agencies which will require this information.

Primary users of ISHHS:
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In our analysis, we have identified the following primary users of the ISHHS along with their usage need on disability data:

- Researchers, to pursue research in the field of rehabilitation.
- The general public, to create public awareness on the cause of disability.
- Policy makers, to formulate policy in improving the living condition of people with disability.
- Associations and Non Governmental organizations (NGO) , to frame disability preventive measure.
- Trade unions, to act together to create avenues for employing people with disability.
- Government agencies, to formulate and implement legal laws and social welfare programs for disabled person.
- International organizations, to assist the respective government in framing rehabilitation policies and to provide a global forum to share the information on disabilities.
- Health service organizations and providers, to organize medical and rehabilitation programs to assist the disabled.
- Industry, to help foster their corporate social awareness programs.
- Device and equipment manufacturers, to design and market devices that caters to the needs of disabled people.
- Employers, to assist in framing disabled friendly organization culture.
- Disability consumer groups, to provide legal assistance to disabled people in practicing their rights.
- Insurance agencies, to help them in framing special medical insurance programs for person with disability.
- Education planners, to develop curriculum that will help the special child in improving their life skills and create avenues for educating the disability person from low socio economic.
- Media, to create awareness on disability.

Importance of Data on Disability:
-------------------------------

Once the end users are identified, it is important to identify their needs and expectation along with their usage view of the disability data. The identification phase will yield answers to the various questions pertaining to the various needs of the disability data .

Based on this analysis, we have identified the following key areas where ISHHS will be utilized to plan for the welfare of the differently abled people:

- Planning of new Legal laws & Procedures
- Project and planning evaluation
- Marketing
- Policy development
- Advocacy and political action
- Planning and implementation of disability preventive measures
- Tracking and enhancing the participation of persons with disability
- Improving services
- Creating or improving standards

Thus the identification phase is of paramount importance, as it establishes the goal of the survey phase.

ISHHS: Survey Phase
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Once the users and their needs are identified, the core activity of the knowledge acquisition phase, the process of data collection has been conducted. In ISHHS, the survey model has been used as the instrument in implementing the data collection process.

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( Please refer to the project report attached for the Model)
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The survey model involves various stages illustrated above. Each of these stages plays a critical role in framing the knowledge rules. The ISHHS knowledge acquisition phase was implemented through channels such as Governmental agencies and Non Governmental organizations. The data gathered in the survey phase formulates the knowledgebase of ISHHS's online repository. Once the knowledge acquisition phase is completed, it gives leads to the development of system architecture.

V. ISHHS Architectures
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ISHHS-A Bird eye's View of the system

The ISHHS is a Client Server based application developed using the Java/J2EE Technology. As shown in the Technological grid, the ISHHS comprises of three layers of components:

- Client end components
- Server end components
- Knowledge repository

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( Please refer to the project report attached for the Model)

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The end user interacts with the ISHHS through the client end screens designed using the tiles technology. The client end components contains validation rules that are implemented using the client side scripting languages such as JSP to facilitate the validation of end-user's input.

The ISHHS has been uniquely designed in such a way that most of data driven operations are implemented as "Click & Go - Mouse operations" rather than the conventional keyboard based operations. The reason behind this unique feature is to minimize the time required per record entry. This approach is time and cost effective since it has significantly helped the data entry team in avoiding typological errors and has significantly reduced the rework time for re-entry.

ISHHS Application Architecture
------------------------------

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( Please refer to the project report attached for the Model)
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- As shown in the application architecture of ISHHS, the end user interacts with the ISHHS through the interactive front end screens. The validation engine evaluates the authenticity of the user's credential in accessing the application system. On successful validation, user gains access to the application system module. The application system module comprises of nine process stream modules. Each of the process stream modules has been implemented using a separate interface screen. These screens act as interface to facilitate interaction among the end user and application module. Usually, user type in the information gathered from the survey forms in to the respective process area screen module. Components like drop down list, Text box in each screen has a validation rule attached to it which get executed for each entry to ensure that data in proper format is fed in to the ISHSS knowledge base repository.

- The application module resides and executes in the server end. It forwards the successfully validated data stream for storage in to the database table present in the database server. The application module and database server interacts in a client server mechanism.

- The ISHHS application module sends information which the database server stores in the appropriate tables. Similarly when the ISHHS knowledge management (a sub module with in application module) requests specific information, the database server executes a conditional query and responds with the interested data as output.

ISHHS Technology Grid
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- One of most important responsibility of an engineer is to deliver cost effective solution. In development of ISHHS, immense care was taken to achieve this commitment. A unique feature of ISHHS is its technology grid. The ISHHS has been developed by making use of open source technological tools, which has zeroed in the cost of development and maintenance of the system.

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( Please refer to the project report attached for the Model)
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- As Shown in the technology grid, the Client end makes use of technologies such as tiles, Html and browser. The server end contains the ISHHS application that execute over Tom cat server, while the database end has been implemented using My SQL 5.0.

- The development of such a system will be a boon in developing country like India since the cost factor for development has been brought down to zero. This project has set an example how students and professionals can invest their time in developing low cost effective technological solutions that benefits millions of disabled people. The success of this project will further motivate and facilitate the participation of professionals' in future humanitarian projects.

ISHHS-Software Development Life Cycle
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The ISHHS has been developed using the software development life cycle models such as "the Iterative Waterfall and Spiral Models".

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( Please refer to the project report attached for the Model)

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The following phases were adopted during the course of development of "ISHHS".

- Analysis phase: In which the Government requirements were transformed in to System requirements.
- Design phase: The system requirements framed earlier were converted to design models like Application Architectures and Data models.
- Construction phase: The system has been constructed using object oriented technology on the basis of the design framed earlier.
- Testing phase: The software has been validated against the test cases established during the analysis and requirement gathering phase.
- Deployment phase: This involves the installation of the developed software in the target client system.
- Maintenance & Support phase: Any new emerging requirements and fixes will be introduced in to the system.

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( Please refer to the Appendix in the project report attached for Design Model, Application Interfaces and Database Modeling)
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Impact
VI. Impact on the Life of Differently abled people
- Insurance agencies can frame special medical insurance programs for person with disability.

- Education planners can utilize the disability data to develop new educational programs for assisting the special children in improving their life skills. Similarly, the existing curriculum can be updated so as to create avenues for educating the disability person from low socio economic.

- Media can utilize the data in creating awareness on disability about the possible causes and their respective preventive measures available in a specific region.

VII. Results
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Impact of ISHHS on policy formulation
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Some of the specific benefits yielded from using the knowledge extracted from ISHHS in the domain of policy formulation are listed below:

1. Differences in rates of disability between males and females:

The information on Gender differences will helps to identify the presence of discrimination against a particular gender in availing disability services. This data will help the government in framing policies to facilitate equal access to services. Also; this information would assist in determining the cause of disability like accident related injuries in the working environment. This information will provide the basis information supporting the formulation of policy on safety measures in the work place.

2. Disability Prevention-data on the cause of disability

The identification of the cause of the disability will help the policy makers in planning and execution of preventive programs appropriate for their respective districts. In the State of Tamil Nadu, the following underlying causes of disability have been identified through the ISHHS analysis:

- Malnutrition, diseases,
- Congenital factors,
- accidents,
- Inadequate hygiene,
- Lack of access to a health care system,
- Exposure to chemical substances,
- stresses and others.

Most of these causes of disability are preventable, if strategies that focus on these areas are employed. The ISHHS has generated appropriate knowledge required in planning and execution of such preventive strategies to reduce the incidence of Disability.

3. Differences in service utilization between the populations with and without disabilities

This information will help in formulation of policies to increase accessibility of population with disabilities in different services and facilities, such as mandatory provision of ramps instead of stairs for those on wheelchairs.

4. Identification of physical and social barriers

Information on what types and causes of restrictions persons with Disabilities are facing related to basic services is useful for determining the environmental and social barriers that most urgently need to be addressed. This information also help the government in identification of the type of assistive device most needed is important for the best allocation of funds.

5. Access to and participation in education and employment

The data may provide information on how persons with disabilities are integrated with the educational system and the labor market. This is a critical issue related to disability policy.

6. Legal Rights & laws to support person with disability:

Discrimination against persons with disabilities, and unwillingness to bear the costs of creating a more accessible environment e.g. at schools or workstations are key obstacles to the improvement of the lives of persons with disabilities.

7. Improving the infrastructure and resource facilities towards the cause of disability

Disability data may encourage governments to construct better facilities or provide tax incentives to schools or firms that accept persons with disabilities.

8. Impact of Poverty and Information on Income & type of Disability

Poverty is one of the causes of disability. This is because the poor are more exposed to dangerous working and living conditions, including lack of access to healthcare facilities, and poor nutrition, among others.

On the other hand, disability can also be a cause of poverty. This is particularly true if the persons with disabilities, and their caretakers, do not have the capacity to generate income for the family. More over, there may also be financial constraints brought about by the expensive medical treatment or assistive devices needed by persons with disabilities. The collection of Data on income and information related to the socio economic status of the household may provide insight into how poverty can affect disability and vice-versa.

Thus the information from ISHHS will assists the Government of Tamil Nadu in framing polices and programs towards the welfare of the differently abled people.

VIII. Implementation status
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ISHHS - Implementation Architecture
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( Please refer to the project report attached for the Model)

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This model explains the project planning and execution model of ISHHS project. As per the Census of India-2001, the State of Tamil Nadu comprises of 31 districts with a total disabled population of approximately 16,42,497. The office of the state commissionerate for disabled along with various Governmental agencies have adopted the survey model explained earlier in implementing the knowledge acquisition phase of ISHHS. Each of the 31 districts has a Governmental agency named "District Rehabilitation center" that look after the welfare of the disability population in their respective region.

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( Please refer to the project report attached for the Model)
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As show in the figure, the networks of the "District Rehabilitation officers" were used as the instrument in the gathering information during the survey phase. The development of ISHHS was carried in parallel to ensure the availability of the information system at the end of survey phase. Later on, the data collected from the survey process has been successfully fed in to the ISHHS .The data available in ISHHS is being used effectively in planning and implementation of different initiatives aimed at the betterment of the differently abled population. It also provides an effective mechanism to closely monitor and evaluate the on-going welfare projects on disability.

Currents status
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- The ISHHS has been successfully developed and implemented across all the 31 districts of state of Tamil Nadu over a period of 4 months. Based on the government census, this system is expected to benefit the entire disabled population of approximately 1.645 Million people in Tamil Nadu.

- According to the latest report received from the NGO MNC and office of the state commissionerate, ISHHS has reached the milestone of covering Half a Million disabled people across the state of Tamil Nadu.

- The Stage- I of the project that involves the completion of data entry is likely to be completed by April 2009 by which all the person with disabilities in the state of Tamil Nadu will be covered.

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( Please refer to the project report attached for the Model)
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-It is to be noted that individuals who are afflicted with disability and has not availed any benefits from Governmental initiatives either due to lack of awareness on their rights or due to a hesitation on social grounds are successfully being identified during the survey phase of ISHHS. Thus ISHHS is significantly helping the state commissionerate to identify the hidden disability population across the state.

- The hidden disability population will eventually be incorporated in to ISHHS disability knowledgebase repository, so that ISHHS will reflect and generate accurate disability statistical data. By utilizing the hidden population data, Government can enforce action plan to enable them to participate in various social welfare program for disabled and enable them to experience equal opportunity in the society.

- The Stage-II of the project involves designing of data mining techniques for extracting appropriate knowledge from the knowledge base has been initiated and is expected to be completed by May 2009.

ISHHS - Half a Million Coverage Landmark
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- As per the latest information from the state commissionerate for Disabled, Government of Tamil Nadu , ISHHS has successfully covered approximately about 5,84,000 disabled people across the state of Tamil Nadu and has obtained the achievement of covering" Half a million disabled people in a short period of time.

- Statistics on ISHHS Implementation: District wise usage
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( Please refer to the project report attached for the results)
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- Notification from NGO MNC and State Commissionerate on "ISHHS Half Million Coverage Mark".

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( Please refer to the project report attached for the results)
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Total Disabled Population & ISHHS Implementation and usage-Statistics as of Feb 3, 2009

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( Please refer to the project report attached for the results)
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ISHHS Project Metrics and Time line Using Gantt chart

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( Please refer to the project report attached for the project Time line).

Adaptability of ISHHS to other regions:
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- The unique feature of ISHHS supports maximum flexibility and extensibility in implementing the system in any region across the Globe. Since, open source technology model has been adopted in developing ISHHS, future enhancements and customization to a specific geographical region can easily be carried over with zeroed in development cost. Most of the ISHHS's components like architectures and designs are reusable which in turn enable the development of newer versions without complex coding, testing, or re-engineering of system.

- The success of the ISHHS in the state of Tamil Nadu is likely to encourage all other the states in India to adopt and implement an information system like ISHHS in their respective state. Thus in the long-term ISHHS has the potential to benefit the entire disabled population in India of approximately around 21.9 million disabled people (based on census 2001). Further, the flexibility of ISHHS makes it an ideal solution for deployment in any country with minimal customization1 efforts and costs. For instance, customized versions of ISHHS can be developed and used effectively in countries like Africa to devise welfare programs for the differently abled people.

VIII. Conclusion
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- A sharper focus on disability issues, paying attention to the rights of those directly affected and the diversity of their experience, will help achieve greater equality of rights and opportunities for people with disabilities. Special people are assets because in spite of their problems, they radiate confidence and inspire all of us. This project is a shining example of how technology can bring in significant positive changes in the life of the person with a disability. This project has set an example on how students can invest their time in contributing technological solutions for the benefit of Humanity. This successful venture will definitely inspire and motivate the participation of young professionals in future humanitarian projects.

X. Supporting Evidences

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(Please refer to the project report attached for the following evidences:

1) Appreciation from Government of Tamilnadu
2) Feedback from the state Commissioner for disabled, Government of Tamilnadu, India on ISHHS implementation and features.
3) Report on ISHHS Milestone celebration event along with photographs
4) Press articles
5) Appendix on design models
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