[Nfbf-l] {Disarmed} The Eyetalk concept

[Alan Dicey]

The Eyetalk concept, initially conceived for a student competition in social entrepreneurship, has been hailed by venture investors as a potentially breakthrough product that could make a difference for disabled people worldwide. This week, it was recognized as one of 12 semi-finalists in the FIU Track of the Miami Herald Business Plan Challenge.


Eyetalk concept wins attention, praise for social entrepreneurship innovation.

By using a pair of eyeglasses and lightweight components, Eyetalk will allow a blind user to access printed material while walking around a store or library, which now requires bulkier, more expensive equipment. The Eyetalk, still in its development stage, is designed to be portable, affordable, and operate without requiring an Internet connection. Future versions of Eyetalk will target a global market and enable users to hear information aloud in one of many languages. 

The project began with a challenge issued by FIU College of Business faculty member Seema Pissaris, a successful entrepreneur who founded Games Trader, a company that went public on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Last fall, Pissaris urged students in several of her classes to think about developing a social entrepreneurship project. FIU students Maria Pia Celestino, Viurniel Sanchez, Jesus Amundarain and Esam Mashni came forward and started working with Pissaris on a technology that had the potential to help people and turn a profit.

Focusing on the breakthrough innovation of a pair of glasses that could read to the blind, engineering student Viurniel Sanchez began to explore a target- recognition technology that he and two of his classmates had developed in a research project funded by NASA and the Department of Defense. He thought it might be reconfigured to help the blind navigate their environment.

The human inspiration for the product's development came from Miami social entrepreneur Michael Arbitman, a computer engineer who lost his sight in his 20s. He created Imuneek.com, a website designed for the disabled to share resources and connect with service providers. He met the team, heard their concept for a pair of glasses that would read, and was amazed by the potential of their technology.

"A product like this," he said, "could give me my freedom back."

The FIU team's early prototype, known as the FreedomLens, was one of 16 semi-finalists chosen from 29 nations to present at the 2013 Global Social Entrepreneurship Competition (GSEC), February 25-30 at the University of Washington's Foster School of Business in Seattle.

The team from FIU, one of only four U.S. universities chosen to present, received an outstanding reception at the conference, where one judge said it had the potential to bring "disruptive technology" and create an entire new market.

"The students realized that they didn't have to reinvent the wheel," Pissaris said. "They are customizing a technology to meet a global social need, and creating a market-based solution."

More information: eyes4blind.com/

Provided by Florida International University 





EyeTalk is an innovative pair of eye glasses that allow people with severe vision impairment to hear the text 

in books, newspapers, magazines, menus, product packages, signs, and other items, 

in a multitude of languages.

HomeThe ProblemProductdemoSocial ImpactTeamBoard of AdvisorsContact

Navigate to... Home The Problem Product demo Social Impact Team Board of Advisors ContactThe Problem According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there are 285 million people with low vision worldwide and 39 million who are blind. In the USA alone, about 1.3 million are blind, a number which is projected to increase to 1.6 million by 2015 and 2.4 million by 2030 (NFB, 2012). Due to their disability, only 37% of blind adults in the U.S are employed. 



.123PreviousNextWhile poverty causes blindness, blindness perpetuates poverty due to increased costs and lack of employability. Because blindness is such a debilitating illness, it requires continuous assistance, thereby also limiting the working capacity of others in the family, often times, causing a spiral of poverty in the family.



Currently, there is no affordable mechanism that enables blind people to read text in books, magazines, newspapers, product packaging, and other similar items posing a significant constraint and limitation on their daily lives. While computers and smartphones are able to address some of these issues, these solutions are very expensive and largely targeted for developed countries. Moreover, many solutions such as software and assisted technology equipment are not mobile as many work only through computer-based, LCD screens.

 Our goal is to make an affordable product that can be purchased by any individual.

This product will be available FREE of cost to many in the US 

thanks to organizations like the Lighthouse for the blind. 

Product 

2D prototype



A 2D model of EyeTalk



High Resolution Camera



Capturing images



FPGA Based Processing



The processing unit



Earphone



Delivering text-to-speech



Current Prototype



Viurniel models our functional prototype.



Testing



Virniel tests the prototype on a very interesting read.



FIU Team



The Eyetalk team and mentors Dr. Seema Pissaris and Dr. Kroeck



Prototype



Testing EyeTalk at the library.

 EyeTalk provides an innovative, practical, mobile, and economical solution 

for the blind, allowing them to hear printed text, and helping them to avoid obstacles on the go. 

demo  

Social Impact The social impact of our venture will consist of providing a higher degree of freedom, economic productivity, and dignity to the millions of blind individuals across the globe.





Access to printed information makes education available.



Education allows individual to gain skills to become employable.



Employment increases access to proper health care.



Individuals become independent and active members of society.



Team 

Viurniel Sanchez



CEO



Viurniel has vast experience in entrepreneurship and engineering. He owns a contracting firm, A-1 Power Contractors, since 2008, and works as a Senior Business Systems Analyst for NextEra Energy, Inc. supporting the PMO, responsible for the IT Infrastructure budgets, and protecting Critical Cyber Assets. He has worked on ignition systems for rockets, and on projects sponsored by NASA and the DoD.



Pia Celestino



VP External Relations



Pia is a young veteran in the entrepreneurship and marketing fields. She founded Crea7ive.com in 2006 where she received several awards over the years including 6 Addy Awards in 2012. She has over 9 years of experience working on marketing and software development. At EyeTalk she is in charge of strategy, social media and marketing campaigns.



Jesus Amundarain



COO



An MSEE candidate at FIU, Jesus is an Embedded Systems Engineer at Avionica. Jesus is the lead engineer at EyeTalk. Jesus has worked on a NASA sponsored radar system. Viurniel, Esam and Jesus have worked together on prior projects including a NASA sponsored drone, for which they were invited to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum to present.



Esam Mashni



CTO



An MSEM candidate, is currently at Blackberry working as an Electrical Engineer. Esam completed his MSEE on December 2012. Esam worked on ignition systems for space crafts at Nova RocketCraft. Viurniel, Jesus and Esam have worked together on prior projects including a NASA sponsored drone, for which they were invited to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum to present. 



Board of Advisors 



Seema Pissaris



Student Advisor



Dr. Seema Pissaris is Professor at FIU and a successful entrepreneur who launched numerous successful companies and was nominated for the Canadian Woman Entrepreneur of the year award by the Royal Bank of Canada.



Malek Adjouadi



Engineering Advisor



Dr. Malek Adjouadi is a Professor Electrical and Bio-Medical Engineering at FIU. His work is focused on Image Processing and Human Computer Interface. He collaborates with our team providing his expertise and support on the prototype development.



Mike Arbitman



User Experience



Mike Arbitman has a PhD. in Computer Science and became blind after travelling to Asia for work. He is currently helping our team to test the prototype and providing invaluable feedback to improve users' experience. 



Peter Wright



Financial Advisor



Peter Wright is an expert in finance and Chinese studies and has contributed to publications including Business Week, Dow Jones Asset Management, Institutional Investor and Wall Street Journal Transcripts.



Merrill Grogell



Team Mentor



Merrill Grogell is currently employed by Fluor and has over 30 years of Project Management experience.



Harry Sheikh.



Business Advisor



Harry is the founder and CEO of HEYS USA, one of the most successful luggage companies in the country. Harry has a broad understanding of international markets as he has exapanded HEYS internationally to Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean.





ContactWe want to hear from you. Get in touch!

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  Contact Info

 954-864-6682



 info at eyes4blind.com



 7301 Wiles Rd #204 Coral Springs, FL 33067

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