Israel's mobile technologies for disabled find mass market appeal
22/01/2015 11:51
* Disabled war veterans inspire innovation in accessibility
* New technology proves useful for able bodied users
* Apps include hands-free control and voice recognition
By Tova Cohen
TEL AVIV, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Israeli technology firms
catering to the country's disabled war veterans are exploring
ways to bring their innovations to the mass market with
applications that make mobile phones easier to use.
Israel, with its thriving start-up scene and large number of
military veterans, is a natural incubator of technology for the
disabled, some of which is proving useful to able bodied users
as well.
"That's the secret sauce to go to scale," said Andrew
Johnson, an analyst with market research firm Gartner Inc.
A phone for the blind developed by Project Ray also allows
drivers to operate a device without taking their eyes off the
road, while Sesame Enable's hands-free phone, crucial for
paralysed users, offers convenience to all.
Voiceitt, which developed an app for people with speech
impediments, is exploring ways to help voice-recognition
software understand a more diverse range of accents.
Johnson added that phone manufacturers are beginning to
incorporate disability technology as standard, providing a
platform for more specialised apps.
iPhone and Android phones already include features for the
disabled, while Samsung's Galaxy is the first to incorporate
eye-tracking technology for hands-free use.
Disability has inspired innovation for centuries. Alexander
Graham Bell's invention of the telephone grew out of work on
hearing and speech products for the deaf, while Thomas Edison
envisaged the phonograph as a means of recording books for the
blind.
More recently, many developments in screen interfaces,
robotics and voice recognition were test driven by disabled
users.
OPEN SESAME
Sesame is the brainchild of Giora Livne, a former electrical
engineer in Israel's navy who became paralysed from the neck
down when he fell off a ladder, and entrepreneur Oded Ben-Dov.
Livne turns on his phone by uttering "open sesame", and
minimal head movements enable him to dial or send messages.
"Despite advancements in technology, so few are designed to
meet the needs of people with disabilities," said Ben-Dov.
He estimates Sesame's core disability market at 10 million
adults, but is targeting able bodied users as well. The company
recently introduced an app for Apple iPads letting piano players
turn sheet music with a nod of the head.
Project Ray targets 39 million blind users and 246 million
visually impaired worldwide, who typically rely on simple phones
with big keys, a market dominated by Sweden's Doro AB DORO.ST .
Project Ray raised $1 million, including money from Qualcomm
QCOM.O , to build a customised Google GOOG.O Nexus or Huawei
phone that speaks out loud, telling users what button has been
touched.
To branch out, the company adapted its technology to a car
accessory that enables drivers to remotely control cellphones
without looking at the screen and plans to release the product
globally in February, CEO Boaz Zilberman said.
Voiceitt's core product is an app for users with speech
impairments -- a market estimated at 10 million -- that learns a
person's speech pattern and makes it understandable to others.
CEO Danny Weissberg believes Voiceitt can also help people
improve their accent when speaking a foreign language, and make
mainstream voice recognition such as Apple's Siri more reliable.
Leading speech recognition programmes recognise just a
handful of accents in English to cover the full range of native
and non-native speakers worldwide.
(Additional reporting by Eric Auchard; Editing by Sam Wilkin)
((tova.cohen@thomsonreuters.com; +972-9-899-0222; Reuters
Messaging: tova.cohen.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
Keywords: ISRAEL TECH/DISABLED