United Press International Copyright 2004 by United Press International.
EAST LANSING, Mich., Sep 12, 2004 (United Press International via COMTEX) -- Michigan State University engineering students have modified a washing machine so that it can be voice activated, the BBC reported Sunday. "We asked Whirlpool if they'd be willing to donate a device and they gave us one of their most up to date machines to work on," Professor Erik Goodman told the BBC News Online. The students built a circuit board that gave speech output each time one of the machine's buttons was pressed. The machine was then given to a blind couple, Michael and Carla Hudson, for testing. "I'm so excited about the technology that it's brought a whole lot of energy, from my perspective, to doing the laundry!" said Mr. Hudson, the director of the university's resource center for disabled students. "My wife loves it, partly because it's a really good machine and technologically because it gives her the confidence to know that she has all the settings right."