Tikkun Olam Make-a-thon, or TOM, is an innovative approach to using 3D manufacturing to address the needs of people with disabilities.
The idea is fairly simple - bring together creative people with the relevant knowledge and skills in a closed space, give them all the tools they could ever need to create, and then watch the magic happen.
Two broad groups of participants were invited to TOM - Makers and Need Knowers.
“Makers” are those who are using the tools of the 3rd Industrial Revolution to make and create. Most of the 3DHubs community will likely fall into this category. It also includes industrial designers, engineers, and self-taught DIY garage heroes.
“Need Knowers” are those with deep knowledge about the challenges people face. They are doctors, nurses and occupational therapist. Perhaps the most valuable Need Knowers at TOM are the people with disabilities themselves.
These lines are not strict and at the first gathering of TOM we were lucky to have numerous Maker-Need Knowers in our ranks. Chief among them is Sefi Udi. Sefi, a graduate student of Industrial Design at Israel’s prestigious Bezalel Academy, is also paralyzed from the neck down. However, Sefi has not only designed numerous system to enable and empower himself (including the clicker system he operates with his mouth when modeling using 3D software seen at minute 0:29 in the following video introducing TOM), Sefi also regularly offers his services to enable the abilities of others as well.
TOM Recruitment Video
What did TOM produce?
13 teams focused on 13 different challenges faced by people with various disabilities. Each team was paired with a specific person who is faced by the challenge, in most cases the person with the disability being present at TOM and an integral part of the development process.
With only a few exceptions, most of the projects at TOM were developed as and will remain open-source projects. Our hope in engaging with the 3DHubs is to bring in the 3DHubs community to continue and further the development of these products.
https://www.facebook.com/TIkkunOlamMakeathon?ref=br_tf
DISCLAIMER - All of the products developed at TOM are works in progress and neither TOM nor 3DHubs are responsible should anyone be injured or otherwise impaired in trying to use them. The IP of the projects is and is to remain in the open source realm.
