Software helps quadriplegic vets.

• Position: Computer Science - OmniSwitch

Computer science might not be the obvious major for those looking to change the world, but two teams of University at Buffalo (N.Y.) students are proving that programming can translate into compassion, as classmates in a computer engineering class have developed OmniSwitch, a software program that enables quadriplegics and other people with limited mobility to type letters, surf the web, listen to music, and play computer games with a single button or switch.

Now, the students are bringing their OmniSwitch technology into the real world, working with Buffalo-based Applied Sciences Group (ASG) to develop the software for disabled veterans at the Spinal Cord Injury Center at the James A. Haley Veterans' Hospital in Tampa, Fla. The local technology firm has a $270,000 contract from the Department of Veterans Affairs to develop an augmented communications network for spinal cord injury veterans at the Tampa center.

In place of a mouse and keyboard, OmniSwitch allows users to control a computer with a single switch that plugs into its USB port. The switch can take the shape of a large button, a sip and puff tube that registers air flow, or an eye gazer that detects a person's blink. These access devices accommodate a disabled person's capabilities, allowing him or her to operate the computer like a full-functioning individual.

The program employs a feature called "auto-scan" that scans through options on a computer screen, which...