Learn Creating A Footing That Plant For Everyone Amongst Google Send Upon Challenge: Disabilities
More than a billion people convey a disability. And regardless of the solid reason or community they alive in, the gaps inward chance for people alongside disabilities are striking: One inward 3 people alongside a disability lives inward poverty. In places similar the United States, fifty to seventy per centum of people alongside disabilities are unemployed; inward developing countries that seat out increases to lxxx to xc percent. And exclusively 10 per centum of people alongside disabilities inward developing countries convey access to the assistive devices they need.
Last spring, Google.org kicked off the Google Impact Challenge: Disabilities, an opened upwards telephone phone to global nonprofits who are edifice transformative technologies for the billion people around the basis alongside disabilities. We’ve been amazed yesteryear the ideas we’ve received, coming from 1,000+ organizations spanning 88 countries. We’ve shared a handful of the organizations we’re supporting already—and today we’re excited to part the full listing of xxx winners.
The organizations we’re supporting all convey big ideas for how engineering tin assist do novel solutions, in addition to each of their ideas has the potential to scale. Each arrangement has also committed to opened upwards sourcing their technology—which helps encourage in addition to speed upwards excogitation inward a sector that has historically been siloed. Meet some of our incredible grantees below, in addition to acquire to a greater extent than nigh all xxx organizations working to amend mobility, communication, in addition to independence for people living alongside disabilities at g.co/disabilities.
The Center for Discovery, $1.125 1 M k Google.org grant
Power wheelchairs assist render greater independence to people alongside mobility limitations—allowing them to acquire around without a caregiver, or locomote longer distances. But mightiness chairs are expensive in addition to oftentimes non covered yesteryear insurance, leaving many people express to manual wheelchairs.
With their Google.org grant, the Center for Discovery volition hold developing an opened upwards origin mightiness add-on device, the indieGo, which speedily converts whatever manual wheelchair into a mightiness chair. The mightiness add-on volition render the mobility in addition to liberty of a mightiness chair for around one-seventh the average cost, in addition to volition let people who mainly role a manual wheelchair to convey the pick of using mightiness when they involve it. The device pattern volition live opened upwards sourced to increment its reach—potentially improving mobility for hundreds of thousands of people.
Perkins School for the Blind, $750,000 Google.org grant
Turn-by-turn GPS navigation allows people alongside visual impairments to acquire around, simply 1 time they arrive vicinity of their destination, they oftentimes fighting to regain specific locations similar motorbus stops or edifice entrances that GPS isn’t precise plenty to identify. (This is oftentimes called the “last fifty feet problem.”) Lacking the detailed information they involve to regain specific novel places, people tend to bound themselves to familiar routes, leading to a less independent lifestyle.
With the back upwards of Google.org, Perkins School for the Blind is edifice tools to crowdsource information from people alongside sight to assist people navigate the final fifty feet. Using an app, people volition log navigation clues inward a measure format, which volition live used to do directions that Pb vision-impaired people exactly to their intended destination. Perkins School for the Blind is collaborating alongside transit government who volition render access to transportation information in addition to back upwards Perkin’s mission of making populace transportation accessible to everyone.
Perkins School for the Blind employee, Joann Becker, travels yesteryear bus. It tin live hard for people alongside visual impairments to locate the exact location of motorbus stops in addition to other landmarks.
Miraclefeet, $1 1 M k Google.org grant
An estimated 1 1 M k children currently alive alongside untreated clubfoot, a lifelong disability that oftentimes leads to isolation, express access to education, in addition to poverty. Clubfoot tin live treated without surgery, simply handling practices are non widely used inward many countries around the world.
Miraclefeet partners alongside local healthcare providers to increment access to proper handling for children born alongside clubfoot. They volition role Google.org back upwards to offering back upwards to families via SMS, monitor patient progress through updated software, in addition to render extensive online preparation to local clinicians. To date, Miraclefeet has helped facilitate handling for to a greater extent than than 13,000 children inward xiii unlike countries; this endeavour volition assist them significantly scale upwards their operate to accomplish thousands more.
Miraclefeet helps partners role a simple, affordable brace equally component of the clubfoot treatment. Here, a MD inward Republic of Republic of India shows a woman bring upwards how to role the miraclefeet brace.
Ezer Mizion in addition to Click2Speak, $400,000 Google.org grant
People alongside high cognitive component simply impaired motor skills oftentimes convey a hard fourth dimension communicating—both speaking or using measure keyboards to type. Augmentative in addition to option communication devices (AAC) assist people to a greater extent than easily communicate, simply are oftentimes unaffordable in addition to restricted to specific platforms or inputs. Without an AAC, people may convey difficulty maintaining personal relationships in addition to professional person productivity.
Ezer Mizion is working alongside Click2Speak to construct an affordable, flexible, in addition to customizable on-screen keyboard that allows people to type without role of their hands. With the grant from Google.org, Ezer Mizion in addition to Click2Speak volition assemble to a greater extent than user feedback to amend the technology, including back upwards for additional languages, operating systems, in addition to unlike devices similar switches, joysticks, or eye-tracking devices.
A immature daughter learns to role the Click2Speak on-screen keyboard alongside a joystick controller.
From work to education, communication to mobility, each of our grantees is pushing excogitation for people alongside disabilities forward. In add-on to these grants, we’re ever working to brand our ain engineering to a greater extent than accessible, in addition to yesterday nosotros shared some of the latest on this front, including voice typing inward Google Docs in addition to a new tool that helps Android developers construct to a greater extent than accessible apps. With all these efforts, our aim to do a basis that plant for everyone.
Last spring, Google.org kicked off the Google Impact Challenge: Disabilities, an opened upwards telephone phone to global nonprofits who are edifice transformative technologies for the billion people around the basis alongside disabilities. We’ve been amazed yesteryear the ideas we’ve received, coming from 1,000+ organizations spanning 88 countries. We’ve shared a handful of the organizations we’re supporting already—and today we’re excited to part the full listing of xxx winners.
The Center for Discovery, $1.125 1 M k Google.org grant
Power wheelchairs assist render greater independence to people alongside mobility limitations—allowing them to acquire around without a caregiver, or locomote longer distances. But mightiness chairs are expensive in addition to oftentimes non covered yesteryear insurance, leaving many people express to manual wheelchairs.
With their Google.org grant, the Center for Discovery volition hold developing an opened upwards origin mightiness add-on device, the indieGo, which speedily converts whatever manual wheelchair into a mightiness chair. The mightiness add-on volition render the mobility in addition to liberty of a mightiness chair for around one-seventh the average cost, in addition to volition let people who mainly role a manual wheelchair to convey the pick of using mightiness when they involve it. The device pattern volition live opened upwards sourced to increment its reach—potentially improving mobility for hundreds of thousands of people.
A beau using the indieGo to greet friends.
Perkins School for the Blind, $750,000 Google.org grant
Turn-by-turn GPS navigation allows people alongside visual impairments to acquire around, simply 1 time they arrive vicinity of their destination, they oftentimes fighting to regain specific locations similar motorbus stops or edifice entrances that GPS isn’t precise plenty to identify. (This is oftentimes called the “last fifty feet problem.”) Lacking the detailed information they involve to regain specific novel places, people tend to bound themselves to familiar routes, leading to a less independent lifestyle.
With the back upwards of Google.org, Perkins School for the Blind is edifice tools to crowdsource information from people alongside sight to assist people navigate the final fifty feet. Using an app, people volition log navigation clues inward a measure format, which volition live used to do directions that Pb vision-impaired people exactly to their intended destination. Perkins School for the Blind is collaborating alongside transit government who volition render access to transportation information in addition to back upwards Perkin’s mission of making populace transportation accessible to everyone.
Miraclefeet, $1 1 M k Google.org grant
An estimated 1 1 M k children currently alive alongside untreated clubfoot, a lifelong disability that oftentimes leads to isolation, express access to education, in addition to poverty. Clubfoot tin live treated without surgery, simply handling practices are non widely used inward many countries around the world.
Miraclefeet partners alongside local healthcare providers to increment access to proper handling for children born alongside clubfoot. They volition role Google.org back upwards to offering back upwards to families via SMS, monitor patient progress through updated software, in addition to render extensive online preparation to local clinicians. To date, Miraclefeet has helped facilitate handling for to a greater extent than than 13,000 children inward xiii unlike countries; this endeavour volition assist them significantly scale upwards their operate to accomplish thousands more.
Ezer Mizion in addition to Click2Speak, $400,000 Google.org grant
People alongside high cognitive component simply impaired motor skills oftentimes convey a hard fourth dimension communicating—both speaking or using measure keyboards to type. Augmentative in addition to option communication devices (AAC) assist people to a greater extent than easily communicate, simply are oftentimes unaffordable in addition to restricted to specific platforms or inputs. Without an AAC, people may convey difficulty maintaining personal relationships in addition to professional person productivity.
Ezer Mizion is working alongside Click2Speak to construct an affordable, flexible, in addition to customizable on-screen keyboard that allows people to type without role of their hands. With the grant from Google.org, Ezer Mizion in addition to Click2Speak volition assemble to a greater extent than user feedback to amend the technology, including back upwards for additional languages, operating systems, in addition to unlike devices similar switches, joysticks, or eye-tracking devices.
From work to education, communication to mobility, each of our grantees is pushing excogitation for people alongside disabilities forward. In add-on to these grants, we’re ever working to brand our ain engineering to a greater extent than accessible, in addition to yesterday nosotros shared some of the latest on this front, including voice typing inward Google Docs in addition to a new tool that helps Android developers construct to a greater extent than accessible apps. With all these efforts, our aim to do a basis that plant for everyone.