E6 EZ EE THE WASHINGTON POST.TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 23 , 2021PHOTOGRAPHY AND TEXT
BY PETER ADAMSI
n 2002, at age 40, Henry Evans
suffered a massive stroke that left him
mute and with severe quadriplegia.
Since then, other than his ability to
turn his head and the limited use of one
finger, he lies paralyzed in bed.
Henry cannot speak, but he can
communicate with his eyes, using a “letter
board” to painstakingly spell out words
letter by letter by shifting his glance, which
his wife Jane strings together into
sentences. Henry, now 60, and Jane, 58,
have developed such an uncanny ability to
communicate this way that they no longer
need an actual letter board.
Henry can also communicate with the
outside world using a small reflective dot
affixed to his glasses. The dot, which tracks
his head movements, moves the cursor of a
computer as if he was using a mouse or
trackpad with his hands. Combined with a
special on-screen keyboard, he can type up
to 15 words per minute and dash off emails
— which he did several times with me as
we were coordinating our interview.
Like others with severe disability, Henry
is dependent on caretakers to help him eat,
shower, move about, even scratch an itch.
You could say that scratching an itch is
what led Henry to robotics. After seeing a
TV interview with health-care roboticist
Charlie Kemp, Henry reached out to see if
Kemp had used robots to serve as
extensions or surrogates for body parts.
The result has been a 20-year collaboration
between them, with Henry acting as a beta
tester of the robots that Kemp and others
create.
By leveraging their work with some of
the top minds in robotics, Henry and Jane
have become tireless advocates for the
disabled, openly sharing their research and
experience via their organization: Robots
for Humanity
The day I arrived at Henry’s house this
past summer, he was testing Kemp’s
newest robot — the Stretch RE1. Stretch
was much smaller and more capable than
other robots Henry had worked with in the
past. Weighing 51 pounds, Stretch was
almost entirely a robotic arm that moved
up and down a four-foot shaft. A small
motorized base enabled the robot to
maneuver into tight places where it could
“stretch” its arm up to 20 inches outward
to grasp or deliver objects.
Assisted by Vy Nguyen, an occupational
therapy doctoral candidate from Pacific
University, Henry had already spent weeks
learning the ins and outs of the new robot.
And now they were going to put it through
its paces for me by performing several
tasks.
The first was for Henry to attempt to
unplug his percussion machine — which
helps loosen chest secretions to keep his
airways clear — from the wall socket.
Henry explained this was for his safety
just in case something went wrong with
the machine while no helpers were around
and Henry was unattended. I originally
didn’t think much of the task until I saw
what went into piloting a robot to grasp
something as flimsy as a power cord.
As the day went on, the tasks got more
complex. Henry used Stretch to scratch an
itch, brush his hair and, eventually, feed
himself.
But I’ll probably remember forever the
final task.
Henry wanted to do something for Jane.
Being a bit of a romantic, he used Stretch
to pick up a rose from his bedside table and
bring it to Jane, who was down the hall in
their living room.
As I watched him deliver that rose, I
finally understood why this work was so
important.
The robot was doing far more for Henry
than taking care of his body. It was also
feeding his soul.Movingdevelopmentsin roboticsTOP: Henry Evans, who suffers from severe quadriplegia, attempts
to use the Stretch RE1 robot as a surrogate for body parts he can no
longer control. Henry has been acting as a beta tester of the robots
that scientist Charlie Kemp and others have been creating.ABOVE: Henry wanted to do something for Jane. Being a bit of a
romantic, he used Stretch to pick up a rose from his bedside table
and bring it to Jane, who was down the hall in their living room.
RIGHT: Jane with the flower.RIGHT: Vy Nguyen, an occupational therapy doctoral candidate
from Pacific University, with Stretch RE1. BELOW RIGHT: Two
images of devices on the robot that aid Henry in movement.BELOW: Henry gets much-needed relief, using Stretch RE1 to
scratch his forehead. By leveraging their work with some of the top
minds in robotics, Henry and his wife, Jane, have become tireless
advocates for the disabled, openly sharing their research and
experience via their organization: Robots for Humanity.