ABOVE: Staff Asclepius from Thailand developed a sign-to-text app to assist people who find themselves deaf or onerous of listening to. L-R: Krissada Singhakachain, Peerapat Sangpattrachai, Kittipon Amornprasertkij, Papop Lekhapanyaporn, Nunticha Praphanturakit
Drawing on real-life challenges confronted by PwDs, 14 non-profit organizations (NPOs) shared downside statements that the 75 groups within the AI4A Hackathon used to construct modern options across the themes of transport, wearable units and language instruments.
Staff Asclepius from Thailand, Staff SWIFT Responders from Singapore and Staff EIA from Philippines created options to bridge the incapacity divide, which embody constructing an AI-enabled communication assist for people who find themselves deaf, a sensible system that permits individuals with bodily disabilities to dwell independently, in addition to inclusive banking for people who find themselves blind.
Along with these winners, two extra groups from Indonesia (Arabic Braille Converter) and Singapore (MeetMeHear) will obtain teaching by Microsoft and its companions, together with entry to cloud architects, enterprise session steering to develop their answer, from a proof-of-concept to an software hosted on Microsoft Azure.
“We’re impressed to see the continued enthusiasm of submissions this 12 months for the hackathon to enhance the lives of PwDs and congratulate the winners who so passionately introduced their options to fruition,” mentioned Pratima Amonkar, Chair for D&I and Accessibility for Microsoft Asia Pacific. “The month of Might can be an necessary time for us to see the large risk of the contribution of PwDs as we roll out thrilling consciousness, coaching and mentorship applications with our clients, companions and wider neighborhood throughout the area.”
With greater than 1 billion individuals with disabilities on the planet, and 650 million in Asia, Microsoft believes that accessibility is important to delivering on our mission to “empower each particular person and each group on the planet to realize extra.” Accessibility is the car to allow inclusion of individuals with disabilities. To focus on how know-how can unlock options that empower individuals with disabilities and allow transformative change inside communities in APAC, Microsoft has devoted the month of Might in 2022 to Accessibility Consciousness Month, with a sequence of workshops, trainings and occasions in addition to awarding and celebrating winners of the AI for Accessibility Hackathon winners.
Thailand: Staff Asclepius
To assist people who find themselves deaf or onerous of listening to, Staff Asclepius from Thailand, developed a sign-to-text software that makes use of AI deep studying fashions to seize motion sequences and physique postures that predicts alphabets, phrases and numbers based mostly on American Signal Language. This group of passionate highschool college students from Thailand have formidable plans to incorporate different generally used signal languages corresponding to British and French Signal Language and improve it for wider tech purposes corresponding to dwell net occasions.
ABOVE: Staff SWIFT Responders from Singapore developed a sensible system for individuals with bodily disabilities to dwell independently. L – R: Madeline Lim, Abhimanyu Bhatia; foreground: Nurulasyiqah Mohammad Taha.
Singapore: Staff SWIFT Responders
From Singapore, Staff SWIFT Responders designed an AI-enabled answer that helps the unbiased dwelling of grownup individuals with muscular dystrophy who use motorized wheelchairs for mobility. The Help Wheelchair-user Independence Fall Tracker (SWIFT) good system that they’ve developed renders speedy help to a wheelchair person who falls off-balance from their purposeful place. This conjures up confidence for wheelchair customers, and assures their caretakers, that they will dwell independently and have interaction in significant exercise as their security is assured.
ABOVE: Staff EIA from the Philippines onerous at work. They developed an inclusive banking platform for people who find themselves blind. L – R: Christian Calonge, Ivan Christopher Carrillo
Philippines: Staff EIA
To construct a extra inclusive banking expertise for the blind and the aged, Staff EIA from the Philippines developed an Accessibility and Imaginative and prescient Assistant (AVA), powered by AI and machine studying, that works as a sensible monetary assistant and cellular pockets for the blind and aged that makes digital banking accessible and clear. This drives monetary inclusion for these teams of individuals and permits them to entry funds and banking providers shortly and securely.
Two extra excellent groups have received teaching by Microsoft and its companions to carry their initiatives into totally operating purposes hosted on Microsoft Azure:
1. Arabic Braille Converter (Indonesia): an app that might scan and convert Arabic textual content or graphics into Indonesian Braille format which might be learn by display readers or braille shows. It additionally has the operate to back-translate from Arabic Braille into Arabic textual content.
2. MeetMeHear (Singapore): an app to help the deaf and hard-of-hearing to raised talk with others throughout bodily conferences, by way of the usage of AI for speech recognition to supply extra correct dwell captions.
Downside Statements from Non-Revenue Organizations
NPOs throughout the area contributed to the hackathon by way of downside statements, based mostly on actual experiences confronted by PwD. A few of the downside statements shared embody:
- How can AI present wearable units that may assist individuals with visible impairment traverse the streets independently and safely?
- How can AI present accessibility for on-line applicant evaluation instruments corresponding to language assessments, verbal reasoning assessments, and summary reasoning assessments?
- How would possibly we mechanically create closed captions for offline use to assist the deaf and onerous of listening to neighborhood?
The NPOs symbolize quite a lot of organizations dedicated to bettering the lives of individuals with disabilities in Asia Pacific.
| Korea – Korea Otherwise Abled Federation | Malaysia – Malaysia Pan-Incapacity Soccer Membership | Philippines – AHA! Studying Heart |
| Philippines – Atriev | Philippines – Mission Inclusion | Philippines – Virtualahan |
| Singapore – SG Allow | Sri Lanka – MJF Charitable Basis | Thailand – Tab Basis |
| Thailand – The Redemptorist Basis for Individuals with Disabilities | United Nations Growth Program | Vietnam – Incapacity Analysis and Capability Growth |
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