Brookings grad's 'computer science chops' empowering South Dakota kids

Dakota State University's AdapT Lab modifying cars for mobility-challenged children

Nolan Rohl likes things that move — cars, boats, airplanes.

The Dakota State University senior has always been on the move himself, living around the world as the son of a pilot.

“I’ve driven boats in more countries than most people have been to,” said Rohl, whose South Dakota family roots brought him to Brookings before completing high school.

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Now, Rohl is using his computer science and technology know-how to help mobility-challenged kids in South Dakota experience the empowerment of movement. This work stems from a chance meeting with Dr. Justin Blessinger, head of the AdapT Lab at the Madison Cyber Labs.

Working on incorporating technology into adaptive equipment so that people living with disabilities can achieve barrier-free living, Rohl and DSU students retrofit electric cars to give kids the ability to explore their world. Partnering with Go Baby Go, a national initiative that provides modified ride-on cars to children from birth to age 3, DSU also works with LifeScape in Sioux Falls to get the vehicles to kids who need them.

Most wheelchairs are not designed for small children, so modifying or creating new rides for LifeScape kids can require creative solutions. That’s where Rohl excels.

A case in point is the Madison Cyber Labs’ most recent build. When Blessinger’s team needed to locate all the driving mechanisms of an electric wheelchair in a single joystick while keeping the Bluetooth remote functioning for the parents’ use, Rohl used a 3D printer and wood to find a solution.

“This solution is simpler, with less to go wrong,” Rohl said, noting that the car was faster and the remote functioned as it should when the car was ready.

Rohl’s knowledge as a Cyber Operations major gave him “the computer science chops to help design what we needed,” Blessinger said. But Rohl finds more value in knowing he’s helping others than in cracking an engineering code.

“It was more rewarding to see [a child] get into that car and see her realize that she could move around.”