According to
MyVoice CEO Alexander Levy, more than 90 per cent of people with communication impairments use primitive aids to help them--or no aids at all. His company hopes to change that with
its launch last week of a new mobile application that Levy says will be accessible to anyone with communication challenges.
Yonge Street saw a demonstration of the product earlier this year at a mobile innovation event at MaRS where Minister of Innovation Glen Murray raved that it would transform the lives of some of his friends. It is a location-aware speech aid that offers users a menu of phrases likely to be of use. At Tim Hortons, for instance, it would offer up such phrases as "Tim Bits" and "Double-Double."
The application was developed at the University of Toronto, with investment from Google, Android and NERC. Whereas traditional communication aids cost tens of thousands of dollars, according to the company, MyVoice will be free to try and a full version will cost about $30 per month. It is available on both Android phones and the iPhone.
Writer: Edward Keenan
Source: Andrew Rusk, MyVoice