Hat tip to Mark Perry, as usual – Creative Destruction: $7 iPad App Replaces $15,000, 20 Pound Communication Device
Bloomberg has a superb article on how simple apps are opening tremendous opportunities for people who need assistive technologies – Brain-Injured Emma Finds Her Voice With IPad Grassroot App
Emma was severely injured in 2001. She can not talk or walk and has minimal motion in her arms.
Previously she used a 9 pound device that cost $15,000 to type a message. The device read the position of her eyes. That’s good, but it has to be recalibrated every time it is moved. She’s tied to her room.
That has changed….
With an el-cheapo iPad device, she can type e-mails and draw. She uses a speech generation software to speak.
Her caregiver says a $7 app lifted her out of a major depression last year.
A $7 app.
Lots of people who need help are getting it from the tech revolution.
The apps are coming from the grassroots. Hey, apps writers, want a wide open market? Check out the article.
As Glenn Reynolds often says, FASTER PLEASE! (pardon the shouting, but it is such a joy to see tech opening up the world for people who are closed in.)