Country: Poland
Category: Social
Project Aim: Imagine a world where you are stuck in a wheelchair, and simply using a standard physical keyboard is exhausting. Typing even the simplest answer takes you four times longer than other people. A world in which the internet is your only means of living the way you want to and independently from others. This is the world that 200 million people around the world live in every day. This is also why we created ParrotOne – solutions that benefit the disabled.
Being able to easily type and communicate with friends is crucial. I suffer from CMT myself – it’s a neuropathic disorder that makes my muscles weaker. I can type with only two fingers, one in each palm. Hundreds of millions of people worldwide face similar challenges.
What does ParrotOne do?
ParrotOne is a mobile messenger app and a physical smart-touch keyboard. Both are intended to make life easier for the physically disabled. Our AI learns the way users build messages, and gradually offers more accurate text predictions – not just words, but actually complete, ready-to-use phrases. Created with the needs of the manually impaired user in mind, the interface relies on big visual elements, and makes the entire screen available for forming messages. Using predictions as ‘bricks’ is much easier and faster than typing phrases letter by letter not only for the disabled, but also for elderly people or children.
The ParrotOne team is also working on a smart-touch keyboard prototype that will be compatible with most devices like personal computers. The integrated touch function limits the force required to ‘press’ a key to a minimum, whereas an internal, smart term-and-phrase prediction system decreases the number of actions required to type a message in any app (the word and phrase suggestions are displayed on an OLED touchscreen). Typing becomes easier and faster.
How does ParrotOne work?
ParrotOne has now become an advanced prototype. The app assists in typing SMSs or g-mails, as well as in chatting with Facebook friends. Furthermore, the planned B2B and B2G function is going to help consumers chat with on-line consultants, e.g. on a store or city administration website. ParrotOne makes it easier for disabled users to inquire about store products, discuss shipping details or set a doctor’s appointment.
An additional purpose of the app is to help the disabled learn foreign languages, and facilitate their professional activity. With that in mind, all text suggestions displayed on the screen can be flawlessly translated between numerous foreign languages in a single click – for example if the user selects an English text suggestion, the app’s internal translation system allows to form grammatically correct sentences in Polish. This naturally works both ways – your interlocutor can activate Polish-to-English translation as well.
“Europe is my home. It’s where I live, and where I was born and raised. That’s why I see reaching the SEUA finals as a big honour. It’s also an opportunity to present our start-up to people across Europe, and bring society’s attention to the issues and challenges that disabled people face every day.” Piotr Lewandowski, CEO ParrotOne.
