Automated Adjustable Table

    The Automated Adjustable Table was developed to solve one of the needs of handicapped people with limited upper body movement and control. The purpose of this project is to allow those individuals to use a table that will move and conform to their position while using it. This will allow those individuals to have more productivity, be more comfortable, and be more independent in their daily lives. The table conforms to the user by moving front, back, left, and right automatically using sensors to measure the location of the user.

    In order to interpret the data from the sensors and move the table, an Arduino Duemilanove microcontroller was used. The build of the Automated Adjustable Table prototype was successful. The prototype only varied from the original proposal in minor detail. The proposal called for automated movement in all three axes, while the prototype will only account for two of them. After a cost-benefit analysis was performed, the vertical axis movement automation was deemed unnecessary. The proposal also called for the use of ultrasonic sensors while the prototype uses infrared sensors instead due to both their reduced cost, and a change in the design of sensor placement.