INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The tech world has a lot to offer those with disabilities, but it can be hard to get investors excited about the accessibility space
the needs of those with disabilities
The company just announced ten more, including education for the blind startup ObjectiveEd.The grant program was started a while back with a
kids and easy for teachers to deploy.Part of that, as you might guess, is braille
hands-on: a student reads braille (on a hardware braille display) out loud and a teacher corrects them
Depending on whether a student has access to the expensive braille display and a suitable tutor at home, that can mean as little as an hour
translate that to text and compare that to the braille display, then correct the student if necessary and move on
Speech-to-text accuracy is high enough now that it can be used for a variety of educational and accessibility purposes, so all it will take
worth of hardware, but no ever one said being blind was cheap.Braille literacy is dropping, and, I suggested, no surprise there: With
pervasive and effective audio interfaces, audio books, and screen readers, there are fewer times when blind and low-vision people truly need
the written word and many educational purposes, braille is either necessary or a very useful alternative to speech.Both Schultz and Bellard
I like the SmartEar, for instance, which listens for things like doorbells or alarms and alerts deaf people of them via their smartphone.And
City University of London has a great idea in personalizing object recognition
investigate each one, but may in the future): AbiliTrek A platform for the disability community to rate and review the accessibility of any
that actively listens for environmental sounds (i.e
doorbell, fire alarm, phone call) and retransmits them in colored flashes on small portable boxes or a smart phone to support the deaf
transcription that uses beat tracking to generate subtitles that visualize the rhythm of music
automatic live subtitles for people with a hearing disability
Humanistic Co-Design A cooperative of individuals, organizations and institutions working together to increase awareness about how
Toronto-based startup?developing a navigation app for pedestrians who are blind or have low vision and want to choose the routes they take
for people with disabilities who have difficulty filling out online academic forms.The grants will take the form of Azure credits and/or
cash for immediate needs like user studies and keeping the lights on
