Tag: Inclusion

Smart ‘pinecones’ warn against wildfires. When it comes to domestic fires or break-ins, however, deaf people are particularly vulnerable. Enter a British research team and its new vibrating pillow jacket. On the reverse four miniature haptic actuators have been woven into the fabric. These are coupled with a smartphone through a microcontroller; the smartphone, in turn, can be connected...

A new shoe sole helps predict falls. Meanwhile the way in which people move may be an indicator of their mental health. That is, according to a recent study conducted by a Texas-based research team. 30 young adults first completed a questionnaire assessing their depression or anxiety levels. Next they were filmed by 16 cameras walking or standing up...

Some wheelchairs can be steered by head movements or facilitate conversations at eye-level. But recording cinema-quality moving images from different perspectives has - until now - proved challenging for wheelchair users. Enter the founder of an inclusive film production company in London and his ingenious wheelchair-based camera mounting system. Like a steadicam, the system delivers 3-stage image stabilisation, while...

A venture capital firm is specifically backing LGBTQ+ teams, while an app focuses on the community’s mental health. For some time, a German non-profit organisation has been using wool from gay rams to promote its pro-LGBTQ+ message. A message that was recently given a global platform with financial help from a queer dating app: special wool pieces, whose designer...

A new screen displays the highest resolution humans can perceive. Now for people who use bi- or varifocal lenses comes the latest development from a Finnish startup: ‘autofocus’ glasses. Its lenses are cut for users’ distance vision and feature embedded liquid crystals in a large circular area in the centre. Sensors in the frame send invisible infrared light to...

A one-minute dance could help diagnose autism in children. Now, an Irish startup is helping teachers spot literacy issues in primary-school children. In its animated game, stemming from a research project, children go through a series of exercises on areas like letter recognition, rhyme awareness and the reproduction or merging of individual sounds. Upon completion, analysis is shared with...

Parkinson’s could soon be detected early using a diagnostic pen. Meanwhile, in Portugal a startup has developed a table lamp that monitors epileptic fits. Seizures present a particular risk at night with some 86% going undetected during sleep. An infrared light sensor in the lamp registers movements and an algorithm analyses any data recorded. If movement patterns are consistent...

A pop-up display could help those with limited vision access the digital world. Meanwhile, a Cologne-based startup is offering the German-speaking deaf community, who also have difficulty reading, a similar opportunity: its avatar renders website content into sign language. Website administrators use an internet platform with a toolbox to arrange pre-defined blocks of text and tailor them to individual...