Visible change of subject

Visible change of subject

The public discourse on disability is increasingly and rapidly changing course: from its cost to its value, from its liability to its innovation potential. This radical paradigm shift carries the potential to better meet previously unseen needs.

People with disabilities can increasingly rely on technological advances. The world is opening up new possibilities: mobile devices, hardware, software, peripherals.

What's behind it? Money.

There are several trends driving this change:

• For the first time in history, there is a nexus of rising social expectations, rapidly advancing technological innovation, and significant capital dedicated to diversity, equity and inclusion, to build an inclusive economy.
• Until now, technology for people with disabilities has been an overlooked global market. This is changing, because how can you overlook a multi-trillion-dollar market that is larger than China?
• The demand for support products and services is huge and growing. The invisible population is experiencing crisis-level unemployment and a lack of investment capital, and according to forecasts, with an aging population and an increase in the number of people suffering from non-communicable diseases, the number of people with disabilities worldwide will increase by 130% or 3.5 billion by 2050.

Start-ups are accelerating the world

Fast, open and bold minds. Start-ups, of course, have entered the game  and already their contribution to shaping a society of equal opportunity, access and opportunity for people with disabilities cannot be overlooked. Harnessing the power of technology and innovation to unleash human potential and create life-changing solutions for the invisible - this is truly changing the world for the better.

The mission for many start-ups are changes such as well-being, independence and inclusion, along with many more.

10 EU start-ups visibly supporting the invisible

Be My Eyes 

Be My Eyes is a free app that provides a live video connection between blind and visually impaired users and sighted volunteers and company representatives.

Be my Eyes was founded in Denmark in 2015.by Hans Jørgen Wiberg, a Danish furniture craftsman. Wiberg, who is blind, knew from his own experience that people who are blind or visually impaired often need only a little help with everyday tasks. When his also-blind friend prompted him to use video calls to benefit from the help of friends, Jørgen came up with the idea for the app.

Today Be My Eyes, using a network of sighted volunteers, has grown to 3 million people, works with global companies such as GSM and Clearblue, and has become part of Microsoft and Google's customer service.

Mimi

Mimi provides personalization of sound based on hearing. This Berlin-based start-up, founded in 2014, has developed a biology-inspired and proprietary audio processing technology that knows how well a user hears.

Based on the fact that all people hear differently, Mimi's technology bridges the gap between hearing and sound, providing the listener with the most personalized audio experience tailored to their hearing. It adapts the audio signal to the user's listening capabilities, compensating for imperfect hearing and helping listeners of all listening abilities overcome the challenges of listening in noisy environments. As a result, sounds become more audible, and listeners can keep up with the dialogue and better enjoy the music.

Mimi can be easily integrated into consumer electronics devices such as headphones, smartphones, TVs, in-vehicle entertainment systems and a range of systems and platforms. Mimi won CES Innovation Awards for 2 years in a row in 2019 and 2018. It received funding from Heartbeat Labs in March 2018.

Mouse4All

Mouse4All is an application that allows people with severe physical disabilities such as cerebral palsy, spinal cord injuries, multiple sclerosis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or other neuromuscular diseases to access Android touch screens without touching the screen.

It allows access to the Internet, social networks, games or any other application, and is compatible with both Bluetooth and wired switches. It's also easy to install and can be customized to users' timing and scanning speed.

Start-up Mouse4all was founded in Madrid in 2015 by two engineers, José Ángel Jiménez and Javier Montaner. Since then, it has won a number of awards, including the 2018 EU Social Innovation Impact Award and the 2017-2018 United Nations Award.

Munevo

Munevo was founded in 2018 in Munich to help people with disabilities drive wheelchairs by making simple head movements using the Google Glass app. The idea came to the team during their university studies in the department of business informatics at the Polytechnical University of Munich.

Diseases such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease or spinal cord injuries can severely limit a person's freedom of movement and associated independence. Affected people are often dependent on the help of other people or expensive and inconvenient steering systems. Munevo aims to have a positive impact on wheelchair mobility by providing a less stigmatizing and more comfortable steering system.

The team received the 2019 German Mobility Award for the app. They say this about their mission:

"Our goal is to shape a future in which physical limitations no longer equate to limited prospects.

A future in which technology and innovation help ensure that everyone has an equal chance to lead a full and independent life."

Pedius

Pedius is a mobile application that allows deaf and hard-of-hearing people to make phone calls. Using advanced speech recognition technology, this app allows users to make private phone calls in real time on iPhone or Android devices.

After downloading the app, the user can write a message and Pedius will read it back to the selected contact using an artificial voice. The user can also use his or her own voice during the call, and the app will convert the message into an automated voice and send it to the recipient. The recipient's response will immediately appear on the screen in text.

Pedius, founded in Rome in September 2013, is currently active in 9 countries in 6 different languages and has more than 13,000 registered users.  The platform also offers business solutions to support the integration of employees with disabilities.

Re.flex

Re.flex produces a motion-tracking wearable device that guides patients through the final stages of physiotherapy rehabilitation, helping them to effectively perform exercises at home.

The device can be used by people who have undergone total knee or hip replacement, meniscus reconstruction, and have undergone surgery to repair ligament damage. Essentially, the wearable device and platform address disabilities resulting from physical injuries that can be rehabilitated.

The start-up, founded in Romania in 2016 by Camil Moldoveanu, a European Brazilian jiu-jitsu champion, and his friend Andrei Kluger, aims to make physiotherapy measurable and offer tele-rehabilitation as a service. The target customers are physiotherapists themselves, clinics, insurance companies and patients.

Scewo

Scewo was founded by co-founders of ETH Zurich, with the goal of developing a compact, self-balancing wheelchair that would enable people to overcome obstacles such as stairs.

It all started as a continuation of a student project: in 2014, the team launched its first prototype, and already in 2018 it unveiled its third prototype, the Scewo Bro, which was hailed by the BBC as a revolutionary stair-climbing wheelchair. The Scewo Bro soon began pre-sales in Switzerland, Germany and Austria and won Red Dot Design's "Best of the Best" awards for 2019.

SociAbility

SociAbility (Polish for sociability) is a mobile app that lists facilities and information about their availability. The start-up was founded in 2018 in Oxford by former student Matt Pierri. Matt suffered a spinal cord injury at the age of 16, and when he came from Australia to study, he became a founding member of the Oxford Accessibility Project.

This app collects detailed information from users about the accessibility of stores and social gathering places, such as restaurants, bars, pubs and clubs. Working with local organizations, venues and community members, SociAbility can provide the most comprehensive coverage in any geographic area. Initially focused on Oxford, it aims to expand in the UK and eventually internationally.

Wandercraft

Wandercraft (Polish for wandering)'s mission is to help people with walking impairments walk again, thanks to an autonomous exoskeleton. Founded in Paris in 2012, the company designed the Atalante exoskeleton for patients with musculoskeletal disabilities resulting from spinal cord injury, neuromuscular diseases or stroke.

Atalante is a robotic, self-balancing lower limb exoskeleton that requires no hands and can be used in healthcare facilities for walking rehabilitation. It is easy to use because patients don't have to learn to balance on crutches, making walking and performing daily tasks almost instantaneous.

Wayfindr

Wayfindr (Polish for way finder) enables visually impaired people to travel independently through integrated and accessible audio navigation.

Founded in 2015 in London, the company has developed an internationally approved standard through the International Telecommunications Union. Wayfindr aims to develop and implement an open standard across all way finding systems, providing facility owners and digital navigation services with tools that enable way finding through audio.

This innovation will truly open up a world where visually impaired people will no longer be limited by it, removing barriers to employment, meeting friends and family, and engaging them in other communities.

Engaging and supporting start-ups, initiatives, investments and partnerships to create a world of opportunity and access for the invisible is the mission of us all, the mission of humanity.