Four teams of Newton high schoolers spent eight weeks this summer building assistive devices for real clients, then presented their finished products on Friday, Aug. 21, at Newton North High School.

The projects ranged from a chest-mounted obstacle sensor for blind users to a puzzle feeder for a traumatized rescue pig. All came out of the LigerBots Adaptive Engineering Internship, now in its fourth year, which pairs students from Newton North and Newton South with nonprofits and individuals who need custom-engineered solutions, as first reported by Fig City News.

"There are products that perhaps there's not a big enough market for it to be commercially viable, but it sure as heck would make [that particular client's] life better," said Greer Swiston, a volunteer LigerBots coach who co-created the program with fellow coach John Sangiolo.

Newton North junior Alyssa Yasuhara has spent two summers working on a device for the Carroll Center for the Blind, the Newton nonprofit at 770 Centre St. now celebrating its 90th anniversary. Her team's final product: a small sensor worn near the chest that detects obstacles above what a traditional cane can reach, paired with a watch that vibrates to alert the user. Yasuhara said her team returned to the Carroll Center after every prototype to collect feedback from members.

"The most important thing to us is that we're fulfilling the client's needs," she said.

Newton South junior Eren Safar's group built distance-detecting sensors for a wheelchair, helping a visually impaired client avoid nearby objects. Safar said the internship let him test whether his engineering skills could produce something that works in real life, not just on paper.

Newton South senior Jerry Gong, founder of the Lazer Robotics team, brought his squad back for a third year. They partnered with New England Pediatric Care, an 82-bed facility in North Billerica for children and young adults with complex medical needs, to build a switch-activated wind-tunnel toy. The device uses a fan to push objects through a tube, creating visual stimulation for residents.

A fourth team partnered with the Animal Rescue League of Boston to build a puzzle feeder for a traumatized potbelly pig being prepared for adoption. The apparatus included a ramp, scratching posts, buttons and an interactive food dispenser.

The devices matter. Swiston said the program targets needs too niche for commercial manufacturers but critical for individual clients.

Swiston and Sangiolo originally partnered with Northeastern University to fund the program's first two years. It now runs on private donations. The LigerBots (FRC Team 2877) draw members from both Newton high schools and advanced to the FIRST Robotics Championship's Einstein Field in Houston in spring 2026, channeling that competitive engineering talent toward community needs each summer.

The Carroll Center for the Blind hosts programs year-round at 770 Centre St. in Newton.