Development of assistive technology to operate industrial grade sewing machines for differently-abled persons

Abstract

An assistive technology to operate the sewing machine by hand has been developed and made suitable for differently-abled persons. This assistive device has been developed using two variant techniques, viz Technique-A and Technique-B. Technique-A involves electromechanical potentiometer control and Technique -B involves electrical servo motor control. The sewing machine is developed individually for each technique and tested in terms of machine handling factor, energy consumption, maintenance and productivity. Based on comparative test results, the assistive device of Technique -B is highly suitable and suggested for differently- abled persons. The operator performance in terms of single cycle time (SCT), efficiency, earning and skill level between normal persons and differently-abled persons has also been studied. With this new development, differently-abled persons can work and earn in garment industry like a normal sewing operator.