Smoothing Out the Bumps in the Road

In 1980, Rory Cooper was stationed in Germany as a soldier in the U.S. Army when a bicycle accident left him paralyzed from the waist down. After returning to the U.S., Cooper enrolled at California Polytechnic State University but during his time on campus, he became frustrated with his wheelchair’s lack of maneuverability and decided to invent his own ultralight wheelchair.

That experience turned into a lifelong dedication for Cooper – the founding director of the Human Engineering Research Laboratories (HERL), assistant vice chancellor for research for STEM Health Sciences Collaborations at the University of Pittsburgh and distinguished professor of bioengineering – in cultivating a community where individuals with disabilities are trained in creating assistive technology.

This dedication is chronicled in the documentary, “Bumps in the Road,” directed by Rachel Kittner and Alex Halpern. The film was screened on Tuesday, May 21, 2024, at Pitt’s Frick Fine Arts Building and was followed by a panel discussion with directors and stars of the film, moderated by Anthony Swofford, former US Marine and author of “Jarhead: A Marine’s Chronicle of the Gulf War and Other Battles.”

“Bumps in the Road”

The film highlights the life experiences of Cooper, Sivashankar Sivakanthan, a postdoctoral associate at HERL, and Debra J. Stemmler, a HERL research participant. Rosemarie Cooper, wife of Rory and associate director of stakeholder engagement at HERL, also stressed the significance of making technology attractive to users and embracing technology to improve the users’ quality of life. The producers and Cooper seek to raise awareness about the challenges faced by people who live with serious physical disabilities and underscore the importance of assistive technology in making everyday experiences accessible. A major emphasis was placed on the need to train individuals with disabilities in leading assistive technology advancements. 

“Technology for people with disabilities must be created with people with disabilities,” Rory Cooper said. “Training professionals with severe disabilities, like Sivashankar and Debra, to engineer and test the technology that will help people fully participate in society will always be one of my proudest achievements. I’m incredibly proud of the work HERL is accomplishing.”

As a world-renowned expert in mobility and manipulation activities, Rory Cooper specializes in developing technology to enhance the independence of people with mobility impairments like spinal cord injuries or diseases, equipping them with the skills to operate advanced devices. A featured HERL project in “Bumps in the Road” is the Mobility Enhanced Robotic (MEBot), a powered wheelchair featuring self-leveling, traction control, curb-climbing capabilities, and an intelligent system designed to optimize the benefits of powered seating functions.

Leveling the playing field with assistive technology

After the film screening, the Coopers, Sivakanthan, Stemmler, Kittner, and Halpern discussed the film and answered questions from the audience.

Stemmler’s past experiences with faulty wheelchairs highlight how crucial advancements in assistive technology are in allowing disabled people to fully participate in society.

“In today’s society, if you have an obvious disability, every decision you make is questioned,” Stemmler said. “I’ve had a disability since birth, but I was employed my whole life and adopted and raised a child. Those are decisions that people questioned, but those are things I wanted to do. Without the proper technology, I wouldn’t have been able to do either of those things.”

Sivakanthan emphasized how common Stemmler’s situation is among people with disabilities and why their engagement in assistive technology research and development helps level the playing field. 

For the directors, ensuring the subjects were able to tell their own stories was imperative.

“Our guiding force in creating this documentary was Rory Cooper saying that people with obvious disabilities don’t get to control their narrative,” Kittner said. “If we had the opportunity to make a longer film, we would honor what it means to be a person with disabilities by staying out of the way and visually demonstrating the experience in a more in-depth manner of filmmaking.”

The panel also discussed the importance of making assistive technology more accessible to minorities and underserved communities, obtaining funding for similar documentaries, and ways that high school and undergraduate students can get involved with HERL.

Filming for “Bumps in the Road” began in 2019 before being paused by the COVID-19 pandemic; it resumed in 2021 and premiered at the 2023 ReelAbilities Film Festival in Pittsburgh. Over 200 people were in attendance at the film screening, panel discussion and reception.

“Rory Cooper is a remarkable Pitt faculty member – a researcher, inventor, organizer, and leader – whose work has had a huge impact on the mobility and function of people with disabilities,” said Rob A. Rutenbar, senior vice chancellor for research at Pitt. “We were delighted to offer this special screening of “Bumps in the Road,” a documentary about Rory, his team at HERL and their ongoing work.”