B'luru incubator up for affordable tech solutions for disabled peopl

INCLUSION of physically-challenged population in the workforce has long been challenging with less than 30 per cent of the employable differently-abled age group having a job in India. The reason being poor access to physical spaces such as buildings, transportation, access to services.

As of 2021, Covid-19 has brought in challenges against People with Disabilities (PwD) with children with disability at risk of dropping out of school, differently-abled adults likely to be unemployed.

Bizz Buzz spoke with Mohan Sundaram, CEO, Artilab Foundation, who has created a space for startups and incubatees to produce innovations for the differently-abled keeping in mind critical factors of affordability and sustainability. The need for assistive technology has gained much traction in India, but affordability to these technologies makes it long road ahead for inclusion of these special category people at a larger level.

"We have a high, top-of-the-line incubation centre. As high as 80 per cent of the products are physical in nature, they need physical prototyping. Keeping this in mind, we have a fully functional prototyping centre where incubatees can do mechanical prototyping as well as electronic. We have space for about 60 people to sit. And additional space to accommodate 40 more people," Sundaram said.

With the pandemic posing a threat to access to labs and incubation centres, Sundaram explained that products in physical forms that need to be used and tested at the centre are largely impacted as well as clinical testing of these technologies with the targeted physically challenged community has been obstructed.

"We lack tools and technology to educate special children remotely," he said. The incubation lab supports innovations on speech and hearing, prosthetics for arms and orthotics for spine, hips and legs, and powered wheelchair. Sundaram said that the realisation to produce assistive technologies comes from his own physical limitations as he suffers from Becker Muscular Dystrophy and has been on wheelchair assistance for several years.

"I know the disability sector very well. I studied the sector extensively and helped build federation of NGOs in the disability space."

Awaiting normalcy, the incubator is aiming to open the lab and take up operations on medical technologies that help in preventing disabilities.B'luru incubatorB'luru incubator