In Another Voice

An Indian start-up firm based in Chennai has designed a product called Avaz to help children with cerebral palsy communicate better. 

An Indian start-up firm, Invention Labs, based in Chennai, has designed a product called Avaz to help children with cerebral palsy communicate better. Cerebral Palsy is a congenital disease that robs patients of control over muscles and movement and often affects their ability to speak. Invention Labs was set up by alumni of IIT Madras. Avaz, their first product, is an augmentative and alternative communications device (AAC).  In Wikipedia language, AAC is any method that substitutes or improves verbal and written communication. The device comprises a speech synthesiser that can be operated by what they call gross motor movement or the largely, uncontrolled movement of patients with cerebral palsy. There is a touch-screen or a switch that reads these movements and offers predictive text sentences to interpret them. This is then read out by a programmed voice. “Most persons with Cerebral Palsy are of normal intelligence,” says Aswin Chandrasekhar, CEO of Invention Labs.  “In addition to being unable to speak, their neuro-motor disability prevents them from accessing regular means of communication like writing or typing. This significantly impacts their ability to communicate and integrate with the community.” Avaz is priced at Rs 30,000, which Chandrasekhar says is the price of a standard computer. Similar devices abroad cost about $7,000 (about Rs 315,000) or so.