The project is intended to demonstrate the potential impact of technology on students across environments. One of the areas in which schools have requested technical assistance is that of making bathrooms more functional for students with disabilities. Although the bathrooms are typically physically accessible for students with disabilities they seldom include the assistive technology that would make them easier to use. Seaside has developed a list of assistive technology products including environmental control devices that can be utilized in the school bathroom. They can be operat-ed by a push button placed on either side of the door, by a hand held remote or by an infrared sensor.
Several companies offer automatic water faucets that can be pre-set at a specific temperature.
Students need only put their hands under the faucet to activate the water flow. Infrared activated electric hand dryers provide a sanitary means to dry hands and eliminate paper towel waste. Motion sensor lights save money and energy while increasing accessibility. Other items for the bathroom include the infrared soap dispenser, grab bars and infrared auto-flush toilets. The IBM Corporation has announced the release of a software package for certain of its Aptiva computers.