MindTree Foundation in India developing affordable assistive technology

From DNA in India:

BANGALORE, India -- For 15 years, Nisha Raj has almost shut herself out from rest of the world. The teenager, with cerebral palsy, not only finds it hard to move around freely in her wheelchair, but it’s even hard for her to communicate with the rest of the world. She will soon have technology to assist her in overcoming the limitations posed by her disability.

In an attempt to empower disabled people, Bangalore-based MindTree Foundation is coming up with a set of assistive technologies that are affordable and easily accessible to help people with disabilities lead a normal life.

The foundation has been working for six months on a new initiative called affordable assistive technology solutions for the disabled. It has considered 21 assistive technology initiatives to address the needs of individuals with cerebral palsy and musculo-skeletal disorders, of which 14 have moved beyond the initial evaluation process and are in various stages of development.

“The idea is to provide solutions, such as single-access switches, for less than Rs1,000 and augmentative/alternative devices that are almost like computers, for less than Rs10,000,” Raja Shanmugam, CEO of MindTree Foundation, said.

“Assistive technology is a 40-year-old concept in western countries. In India, most products are in laboratories only, beyond the reach of the target audience, as they are very expensive. Our attempt is to make the best of technologies accessible to people, by providing them at the cheapest possible price,” Shanmugam said.

Some of the technologies that Shanmugam and his team members have readied for launch in the market by December include ADITI (analog digital Theremin interface), which helps disabled people connect with computers, and Augmentative Alternative Communication (AAC) Device, to help those with cerebral palsy communicate easily.

Shanmugam said the AAC Device was by far the team’s most ambitious venture. “The product has been built with the help of software prepared by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras, and hardware by MindTree,” he said.

The AAC Device, which will cost Rs10,000, functions with a touch-screen LCD, switches, speakers and assistive technology software. It will be useful for people with cerebral palsy to communicate easily, as the device will help them to key in sentences in the device, which will then be communicated to the listener through the speaker.

Similarly, ADITI, priced at Rs500, helps disabled people connect with computers. “The device detects any motion close to the plate and creates a click. It can be set close to any movable part of the body — head, leg or elbow,” Shanmugam said. “This product was built at IIT-Madras a few years ago, but still remains a lab product. The MindTree team has taken this product, cleaned up the documentation, built a pilot run and delivered it to an NGO,” he said. “Now, we are talking to a vendor to manufacture it, to benefit a much larger population.”

Shanmugam is planning to take few of the products for demonstration at an assistive technology conference, schedule from July 23, in Bangalore.

Founded in November 2007, MindTree Foundation’s charter is to support those with disabilities. It works with the Spastics Society of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, the Missionaries of Charity, the Somanahalli Panchayat School, the Autism Action Group. The foundation is working with several US-based NGOs, too.

Shanmugam said to help the poor and rural people get access to these technologies, the foundation was working with various NGOs to help disabled people get government loans.

About 10% of the Indian population is disabled and 70% of people with disabilities are in rural areas, under abject poverty.