Microsoft Announces Latest AI for Accessibility Grant Recipients

In May 2018, when Microsoft unveiled AI for Accessibility, it was the company second “AI for Good’ program

The company’s first initiative on this ground was the AI for Earth, which provides training and resources to organizations that help resolve challenges pertaining to climate, water, agriculture, and biodiversity. Under that program, Microsoft pledged $25 million over the following five years for universities, philanthropic organizations. The finds were also available for others developing AI tools that serve those with disabilities. AI for Accessibility is overseen by Microsoft chief accessibility officer Jenny Lay-Flurrie, Microsoft senior accessibility architect Mary Bellard, and others

Nine organizations and projects were awarded AI for Accessibility grants in 2018 to work on a range of projects.

Among them are Zyrobotics, iTherapy’s InnerVoice, Present Pal, Equadex’s Helpicto, Abilisense, Timlogo, the University of Iowa, the Indian Institute of Science, and the Frist Center for Autism and Innovation.

Now the new list for this year’s recipients is out.

Here is the list:

The rewards were grants for the most promising candidates in three categories — work, life, and human connections — with seed grants and follow-on financing each fiscal quarter. Proposals accepted on a rolling basis were evaluated “on their scientific merit,” in addition to their innovativeness and scalability.

“What stands out the most about this round of grantees is how so many of them are taking standard AI capabilities, like a chatbot or data collection, and truly revolutionizing the value of technology in typical scenarios for a person with a disability like finding a job, being able to use a computer mouse or anticipating a seizure,” said Bellard. “[The research being done] … is an important step in scaling accessible technology across the globe. People are looking for products or services to make things easier and AI might be able to help.”

The first recipient was an organization founded in 2011 to match disabled job seekers with “meaningful” career opportunities. Our Ability will team up with students from Syracuse University to create an AI-powered chatbot that will assist with filling out paperwork, identifying the skills required for top jobs, and surfacing work profiles.

Our Ability founder John Robinson, who was born without lower arms or legs, noted in a statement that the unemployment rate among people with disabilities is about twice as high — 7.9% — as those without them. “[The chatbot] will provide a much more rapid way of getting more people to connect with one another. By creating a place where we assess real-life skills, train real-life skills and match them with employment — that’s every disability job coach’s goal in the last 50 years,” he said. “We’re going to be able to do it with technology a lot faster and a lot better.”

Another recipient was Pison Technology cofounder Dexter Ang, an MIT graduate. His mother suffered from the neurodegenerative disorder amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). He now hopes to commercialize a low-cost wearable that’ll enable people with neuromuscular disorders to control digital devices. Much like startup Ctrl-labs’ forthcoming Ctrl-kit, it’ll leverage AI algorithms to translate muscle neuron EMG (electromyography) signals into actions, like simulating a mouse click. “Our proprietary technology can sense nerve signals on the surface of the skin,” said Ang. “To be able to maintain and increase access to that digital world is exceptionally important for people with disabilities.”

A third recipient of the grant is a senior lecturer at the University of Sydney’s faculty of engineering and information technologies Omit Kavehei. He is developing an AI tool that can read a person’s electroencephalogram (EEG) data via a wearable cap, and then communicate that data back and forth to the cloud to provide seizure monitoring and alerts, as a team with some with colleagues. The new product could be very useful to more than 50 million people worldwide who live with epilepsy, as estimated by the World Health Organization. Kavehei and his team will test a cap on epilepsy patients using driving simulations and plan to leverage Microsoft’s Azure Machine Learning service to attempt to predict seizures from human signals.

“To have a non-surgical device available for those living with epilepsy will make a significant difference to many, including family members, friends, and of course those impacted by epilepsy,” said Epilepsy Action Australia CEO Carol Ireland, a group that’s working with the researchers on the project. “Such a device would take away the fear element of when and if a seizure may occur, ensuring that the person living with epilepsy can get into a safe place quickly.”

Applicants Selected AI for Accessibility will receive compute credits for Microsoft’s Azure AI Platform in increments of $10,000, $15,000, or $20,000, depending on their project’s scope and needs. They will also get additional funds to cover costs related to collecting or labeling data, refining models, or other engineering-related work.  Microsoft engineers would also be allowed to work with them to accelerate development and incorporate their innovations into “platform-level” partner services.