It is an electronic order pad and pen which allows staff to write out the order at customers' tables and then transmit it behind the bar. The device also acts as a mini cash register, totting up the cost of the drinks as they are written. It will free up a lot of time for bar staff and help them remember orders. The device went on show at a business conference in Massachusetts today. Also on display was a CD-Rom designed by another Magee College student, John Ryan, which highlights the difficulties experienced by deaf people.
Communication is also a problem in the commercial world.
When I worked in a shop in Belfast, the other staff preferred if I dealt with customers with hearing problems. His CD-Rom outlines how people should interact with people with hearing difficulties. Both projects have attracted interest from Boston-based investment company, the Cullinane Group.