Further funding for iansyst to develop life changing assistive technology
MyDocStore tool given go ahead to proceed with further development
Four technology innovators have been awarded a further £500,000 funding in order to progress their ideas from ‘proof of concept’ through to development of a prototype or demonstrator.
This is Phase 2 of the Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) sponsored by the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) and the Technology Strategy Board (TSB) and managed by JISC TechDis, a leading UK advisory service on technology and inclusion.
Mark Glover, Director of Business Planning at the Technology Strategy Board said: “Through these projects we are helping entrepreneurial British businesses to develop and provide innovative assistive technology solutions. The potential impact of these new technologies is huge; improving communication and access to information will aid individuals in life, learning and work.”
Sal Cooke, JISC TechDis Director says, “The allocation of Phase 2 funding is a testament to the companies involved and the tremendous progress they made during Phase 1. The fact that BIS and TSB continue to entrust the management of these exciting projects to JISC TechDis is a wonderful endorsement of our expertise in this area. Our direct links with the learners who may benefit most from these project outputs ensures that the end products will be fully tested and fit for purpose.”
Phase 2 projects that are successful in developing prototypes may further commercialise and market their products. The successful bids (all still subject to contract) include ground-breaking developments and fall into two different themes.
Making Waves is about converting gesture (or sign) language into digital data. Converting gestures into text or audio output enables learners to communicate with other people. In addition, conversion to electronic command signals means that those with limited motor control can gain greater independence.
The Plain Sailing theme is all about helping users to access, view, comprehend and navigate digital information independently and successfully. These projects champion the use of freely accessible Open Source software packages which can run on the latest technology platforms and give users a personal, customised portal. iansyst has been awarded funded in this category.
iansyst will lead a consortium to develop a multi-platform, accessible document conversion & management tool. MyDocStore will use cloud, desktop and mobile based file management and address the missing link in accessible transfer of files with users’ preferences for accessing all forms of digital resources.
iansyst will develop a robust, usable, working system prototype to trial with learners in the FE and skills sector. Whilst continuing to develop and improve it using Agile type development with real users that will be made available commercially.
iansyst plans to develop a Web Portal. This Web Portal will enable users to upload and download files on practically any device, configure their conversion settings and monitor conversion progress. This will be entirely Cloud based so that it can be used from any web-enabled device and will enable documents to be automatically converted and transferred between devices.
