Temple University launches ergonomic computing pilot

A wave keyboard and trackball mouse are among the new ergonomic devices that have been installed in the TECH Center. Photo by Kelly and Massa Photography

Computer keyboards can be so much more than flat and cramped.

Temple University, boasting among the city’s largest IT infrastructure, has launched a pilot program to introduce ergonomic computer equipment and accessories to their students, faculty and staff, according to the college.

“Project Ergo” has brought 100 joint-friendly computer pieces, including wave keyboards, trackball mice, arm rests and large monitors, to the school’s sprawling 75,000 square-foot Main Campus TECH Center.

Students, faculty and staff are asked to use the devices through the end of the academic year to provide feedback on what pieces would be most used and liked.

The details of some items being used to make computing a more comfortable affair on North Broad Street, after the jump.

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Friday Q&A: Longin Jan Latecki of Temple University Summer Research Program

Temple University computer science professor Dr. Longin Jan Latecki (center, facing camera) speaking about his research with colleagues and students.

If you ever want a robot to be able to get you coffee, they have to be able to see.

So, really, Dr. Longin Jan Latecki, a computer science professor at Temple University, is doing us all a favor. Latecki, whose research focuses on the half-century-old concept of computer vision, is one of 22 Temple faculty who are participating in the university’s inaugural Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP).

The program gives students the chance to earn up to a $4,000 stipend, funded by an equal match between the College of Science and Technology and the researcher’s grant.

Latecki is originally from Poland and is one of two professors working on more than one project for SURP. He came to Temple in November 2001, after stints at the Technical University of Munich and the University of Hamburg, both in the storied German university community.

SURP, which includes faculty from Temple’s CST, the College of Engineering and the School of Medicine, aims to bolster the research chops of Temple undergraduates. More than 270 students applied for the program, and some 150 interviewed with faculty for just 40 available positions during a university event held on March 31.

Below, Latecki, who is also leading a project on the interaction of light with matter, talks to Technically Philly about SURP, his computer vision research and what it takes to get a robot to get me some damn coffee.

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