Wesley Budget »

Goals:

  1. Wes is looking for employment. His present computer is 3 years old. He has an old 15” monitor. The best employment opportunity for Wesley seems to be at a research farm. Wesley is also starting a horse training business with a friend.
  2. He wants specific control of his environment:
    1. Open the door. He presently has no way to exit the house. The door opens into the house. An automatic door opener should install easily. A switch mounted near the door is acceptable. Control via X-10 is needed.
    2. Control the TV. Wesley can operate a standard remote control when he is in his chair using a mouth stick. However, when he is in bed he has no access. His mom needs to go to bed earlier than he does. He wants have basic TV control so that he doesn’t have to wake her.
    3. Turn on and off the lights in the room and the ceiling fan via X-10 controls.
    4. Telephone access is a problem for Wes. Magic Jack is a good solution for him. We may have to design software to make it accessible to him.
    5. Computer access while in bed. The safe-laser system gives him control of the computer, TV, lights, and telephone in bed.

Equipment required:

  1. Ruggedized laptop computer. This keeps Wes’ options open for using the computer in dusty environments. Cost: $3,500
  2. Wheelchair mount for laptop. Cost: $800
  3. Docking station for using computer at home. Cost: $200
  4. Secondary monitor $300
  5. Internet-based telephone access via Bluetooth  headset. Cost: $120
  6. Dragon Dictate for speech input to the computer. Cost: $100
  7. Automatic door opener. Cost: $1,400
  8. Safe Laser System. Provides Wes with an access method to his computer other than mouth stick. It can be used in bed as well as when he is in his chair. It provides remote control functionality as well as computer access for controlling Wes’ environment. Cost: $2,200

Engineering time:

  1. Environmental control equipment – 6 hours
  2. Mount for computer – 4 hours
  3. Installation – 9 hours x 2 engineers
  4. Tech support for 1 year – 20 hours

Total equipment cost: $8,620

Total engineering cost: $3,358

Total estimated cost: $11,978