Innovation Team

About

The Innovation Team is a student-led group within HAND dedicated to creating impactful solutions for individuals with Parkinson's Disease. Our team works on two major projects:

VR Simulation: We're developing an immersive Virtual Reality experience that allows users to understand the daily challenges faced by those living with Parkinson's Disease. Through a three-day progression simulation featuring haptic feedback, task systems, and realistic environments built in Unity, we aim to build empathy and educate caregivers, family members, and the broader community about life with PD.

MotionSense: We're developing a mobile research platform that translates established laboratory-based motion perception tasks into an accessible at-home format for individuals with Parkinson's disease. Using validated random dot motion paradigms and adaptive task design, participants complete brief visual decision-making trials on their phones while securely transmitting accuracy and reaction-time data to researchers. By reducing the need for in-lab visits, MotionSense aims to expand research accessibility, support longitudinal monitoring, and advance the study of perceptual and cognitive changes in Parkinson's disease.

Through these projects, we combine design, engineering, storytelling, and outreach to make a lasting impact in assistive technology and awareness for individuals suffering from neurodegenerative diseases.