one touch at a time - aug 2010

8/9/2019 One Touch at a Time - Aug 2010

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One Touch at a Time

AT Conference Special -Speeches and Articles by MindTree in

the AT conference organized by SSK in Bangalore 23/24 July 2010

MindTree Foundation JournalAugust 2010


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Good Morning! Today, I speak on behalf of MindTree Foundation. We support

the cause of people with disabilities and primary education through our lead-

ership, values and resources.

MindTree Foundation has many goals. To help the differently abled to break

free of their constraints, to leverage technology to transform their lives and to

rekindle hope. Our most important goal, especially at this conference, is to

inspire.

...Inspire more corporations to see the possibilities and join this journey,

...inspire academic institutions working this space with pathways to commercialization and

...inspire the various constituents of this eco system to collaborate and make the AT dreams become

realities.

This session is about affordable, sustainable and indigenous technologies. Let us briefly revisit the

need for such development. After that, we will look at ways to develop such affordable technologies

indigenously. Lastly, we will explore the challenges in making this a sustainable process.

I went to the internet last evening to get some prices of international products that perform some

basic At functionalities.

Here are a few indicative examples

- an ABLENET switch @ $69 retail

- A WORDS+ tablet @ US$ 7695.00 and

- A Words+ Nettalk device (like a Palmtop) @ US$ 3895.00. By the time these devices are

made available for use by a child in Bangalore, the actual costs will go up still higher with

accessories, duties and shipping. How many kids in India can afford such cost?

These devices perform almost the same function as the devices that we are showcasing

in the exhibition today at a much lower price.

How can we make more such affordable devices in India? Let us explore.

The first step is to design for low cost from the beginning. We are attempt-

ing 10X reduction in costs. This can not be achieved by taking a high cost

device and trying to reduce cost by just value engineering. For example, I

can not take a Mercedes, change the engine, remove the entertainment

options and come up with a 1 lakh car. Nano had to be designed from the

beginning with a target price of 1 lakh.

roduction

Need

sign

Text of speech by Raja Shanmugam during the AT Conference at Bangalore on 24th July

Development of Affordable and Sustainable Indigenous Assistive Technologies


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When IIT Chennai designed ADITI, they worked on a target price of INR 500 from the first day for

choice of components, choice of technology etc. The product is being sold with a sale price of INR

520 today.

In any product lifecycle, the cost of development, engineering and testing before it goes to produc-

tion forms a large portion of the total cost. Usually, this is recovered by the companies by adding this

cost to the material cost of the product over a period of time. Due to the low volume of devices in

the AT space, the development cost ends up increasing the price of the product to a very high level,

making it unaffordable.

One way to keep this cost down is to develop the

product collaboratively, like in the case of ADITI. This

was jointly developed through the efforts of Vidya

Sagar, Chetana and MindTree Foundation all organi-

zations dedicated to the cause of people with disabili-

ties. All three players have agreed to absorb the cost of development in their respective areas thus

ensuring that the end price is determined by only the cost of materials, manufacturing, shipment

and taxes, with a small margin added to the vendor.

The other major component of cost in consumer devices is marketing. This ensures more people are

aware of the product, its features and availability so they can acquire one if the want it. Traditional

methods of marketing like advertising etc are quite expensive. Again, considering the small volume,

this further increases the per unit price of the device. The approach we took with ADITI was to mar-

ket this directly to the NGOs, who in turn would propagate the devices to the users. This has re-

moved a major cost component.

A healthy competition is a nice way to reduce prices. Ajit Narayanan

and Invention Labs have done a pioneering effort to bring AVAZ, their

AAC to the market. Their pricing is definitely a good improvement

over imported devices. However, someone else may say, why cant

we make the device still more affordable, especially considering the

conditions in India, where 70% of our people with disability are in the

rural areas.

Another way to make the design more affordable is to make it World

Class. This may sound a bit odd. Let me explain. When you make

world class product, more people end up buying it. This higher vol-

ume by itself helps to reduce the price by spreading the cost

over a larger quantity. Further, by making it world class from

day 1, we also increase the ability to address the international

markets, which will have a further positive impact on the price.

For example, the first device that you see has been developed

through our team. The design supports a prospective factory

price of INR 10,000.00, ie, approx US$ 200.00, compared to de-

vices that serve similar purpose that cost at least US$ 4000.00

velopment

sts

arketing

mpetition

ake it World

ass


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It is working product and looks fine for a prototype. However, we felt that to make this product ac-

ceptable at an international conference like this, it has to look and feel world class.

We hired one of the best designers in the business, Foley Designs, who have designed the Common-

wealth Games torch and whose people have been involved in

the design of high end watches and glasses. We told them that

we needed a product design that will make the user want to

own and use the device. These people go through a lot of chal-

lenges in their day-2-day living. We wanted the device they

will end up using to make them feel happy. This is the first

concept they came up with. In my scanning the web till now,

there are not many devices even in the international market

that look this cool. The concept has been receiving very posi-

tive responses at our stall.

While we are talking about such drastic cost reductions, we should tread with care. The world is full

of lofty intentions laid low by realities of life. The most recent example is the One Laptop Per Child

(OLPC) project. Famously called the 100 dollar laptop , it was thebrainchild of professors at MIT to provide affordable Laptops to fos-

ter learning among the poor children globally.

Launched by Mr. Kofi Annan, then General Secretary of United Na-

tions at the World Economic Forum, this had a target price of US100

per laptop by 2008. However, as of July 2010, the price in India was

INR 14995. 00 (US$ 325.00). This is from a international organization

which operated with multimillion dollar operating budgets, with tech-

nology support from global corporations.

We need to keep this in mind as we step forward to realize our ambitious goals.

Till now we have talked about how to come up with a world class, affordable and indigenous Assis-

tive Technology. But the session is also about sustainable ways of doing this.

What are some of the specific challenges that need to addressed to ensure we can sustain this ef-

fort and ensure their availability to the end users?

For a product like KAVI, the engineering journey itself has just begun. We will need to go through

more rounds of design, get them validated by users and them come up with a version that is accept-

able for manufacturing, field support and also complies to environmental requirements. All these

take a lot of effort and time.

Right now the prototypes are running on open source or campus applications.

Though the KAVI prototype looks and feels great, the real value is in the application that runs on the

device. MindTree Foundation has to acquire a significantly higher level of software capabilities to

build these applications, test them in the field, implement the feedback received to make the prod-

ucts more robust etc.

ution!

allenges

gineering

ftware


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To gain a reasonable level of client feedback, the pilot devices need to be used on many different

scenarios, ideally in many different locations. This is important to understand the real issues in-

volved in the usage of build the confidence of the user community

Coordinating these field trials, collecting information and analyzing the data to arrive at action plans

requires a major organizational effort.

Since most parties engaged in the AT process are either academics or NGOs or designers, it is impor-tant to identify the right manufacturing partners. The manufacturers should have the capability to

build the AT devices with the demanding quality specifications. They should have the scale and size

to influence the pricing of the device positively. Above all, they should buy into the vision of afford-

able AT India. Then they can add immense value in keeping the pricing down through value engi-

neering, innovative approaches in areas such as innovation and packaging. They can also add value

in making the product more robust through their experience in manufacturing diverse products and

technologies.

An effective sales and marketing approach can deliver many benefits. To fix an appropriate price. To

ensure that a large portion of the intended audience gets to know about the product and its avail-ability. Find the right partners to stock and sell. To find the right channels to communicate. To make

the product attractive for the user to buy. To build confidence in the product and the company.

We also need to know how will someone in a place like Jamshedpur who needs a KAVI or ADITI will

receive one, when she needs it urgently,

Very often the success or failure of a new product is determined more on how well it was marketed

rather than just the quality of the device.

As AT gets more complex, the parents and the children may have to get trained to exploit the full

nature of the device. Organizations may not be able to handle this responsibility through their care-givers and teachers. When I spoke with a special education teacher yesterday, she was categorical.

We cannot undertake the training responsibility for AT. We are busy with so many other things.

When we shipped the first lot of 25 numbers of ADITI to Vidya Sagar, we had quite a few issues.

Since neither the supplier nor us have a service set up at Chennai, we had to request Prof. Anil Prab-

hakar to help us out with his technician. We also had one of engineers and another from the Sup-

plier to travel at the same time to understand the issues at the field directly.

Now, if ADITIs need to be shipped to a larger set of locations, this may not be a feasible solution.

While improving the quality of the devices to avoid such failures, we also have to put in place sup-

port procedures to take care of the inevitable failures that are bound to happen in the field.

As the product usage increases, new demands will crop up. Newer versions need to be developed.

Issues with the software will need to be resolved. Updates need to be sent to field. All these need to

thought through, procedures established, people identified and infrastructure put in place.

To do all that was discussed till now and do them continuously, the organization needs money. To

pay for employees, for facilities, travel, development tools, licenses, external party consulting, in-

centives, marketing expenses etc.

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arketing &

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aining

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Some of these can be made available through investments, some through grants while a large major-

ity will have to come from the business operations. Since this is still an unknown market within India,

it will not be easy to raise funds. This challenge will be compounded by the fragmented nature of the

user groups, as one solution may not fit the needs of a majority of users.

Considering the projected volumes of these devices, the biggest challenge will be to cater to all this

while still keeping the pricing at a highly affordable level.

As you can see, the path ahead is steep and full of road blocks. It is not going be easy. Success is not

guaranteed.

However

When I see Prashanth Kamath, himself with cerebral palsy developing AT

in MindTree to make life easier for people like him,

When I see Vaishanavi, who is 100% visually impaired, but battled the igno-

rance and prejudices of the system to complete her MBA and is now a Mar-

ket Analyst at MindTree,

When I see MindTrees brand identity, so wonderfully depicted by Chetan

Shiva of SSK, to represent our DNA of Imagination, Action and Joy

We are reminded that we owe them the responsibility to attempt the impossible

and we will.

Thank you.


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Why is AT expensive? .. .. Raja ShanmugamThree years ago, the CATELST was set up at Spastics Society of Bangalore to enable wide spread use

of AT among the special needs community in India. The center had various types of AT donated by

PACER Center -Minnesota, IBM and others. Soon the leadership realized that relying on imported

products will be a huge challenge. The sheer price of these imported devices was outside the reach

of most children who were availing of the services at the center.

This is how MindTree Foundations entered the Assistive Technology space when SSK asked

MindTree, Why cant you use your technical and product development experience to bring AT

closer to the people who need them the most in India?

From then on, we have worked on a few solutions like the patent pending wearable input device,

the ADITI switch, the AAC and the two player language game. One interesting thing about all these

solutions was that their costs were less than 1/10th

the cost of internationally available solutions

that perform almost similar functions.

This was further reinforced when we presented our story at the Closing the Gap conference at Min-

nesota last year. Many found it hard to believe that we can build a switch (ADITI) that could sell for

as little as US$ 10.00. One of our partners even mentioned, I would like to see you if you can actu-

ally bring this to the market at this price. The ADITI has been shipped commercially earlier this

year at a price of INR 520+ Taxes.

After our presentation at the CTG conference, I spoke with a senior manager of a popular AT device

vendor in US. His initial expression was of surprise that we could do something like this out of India.

He also shared an interesting insight into the pricing model for AT in US.

In the US, the Medicare/Mediclaim kind of organizations cover almost the entire cost of the AT,based on relevant recommendations and certifications. The prices of the products are therefore

quite aligned to the applicable insurance reimbursement limits for certain classes of devices. I am

sharing the applicable slabs of Medicare as outlined in a web article below:

How much do communication devices cost?

Devices range in price. Basic, single message devices cost anywhere from $10 to $100. Devices with

more messages and/or more options can cost up to $8000 and more. Medicare has set cost guide-

lines for predefined device categories.

Devices with digitized speech and eight minutes or less of recording time = $399.27

Devices with digitized speech and greater than eight, but less than or equal to 20 minutes of re-

cording time = $1220.91

ARTICLES FROM MINDTREE IN THE CONFERENCE SOUVENIR


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Devices with digitized speech and greater than 20, but less than or equal to 40 minutes of recording

time = $1610.55

Devices with digitized speech and greater than 40 minutes of recording time = $2361.53

Devices with synthesized speech, message formulation by spelling and physical contact with the

device to access messages= $3651.72

Devices with synthesized speech, multiple message formulation methods and multiple access meth-

ods= $6910.38

http://atwiki.assistivetech.net/index.php/

Augmentative_and_alternative_communication#How_much_do_communication_devices_cost.3F

Regardless of the cost the devices, most devices with these functionalities tend to be priced at

their respective slab rates.

One other reason for the high cost is the volume of sales. Since these are low volume devices, the

cost of development has to be spread across a much smaller number of devices compared to regu-

lar consumer devices. These costs include design and engineering costs, cost of testing, certifica-

tions and agency approvals and field trials, not to mention marketing costs. There is also a very high

cost of direct selling to the various institutes, school districts, AT evaluation and recommending

centers, etc.

So we are stuck in a dead lock in India, where Health Insurance is yet to cover these devices The

cost of available AT with international quality is too high for the users to pick up in larger numbers

& the number of users / market size is not big enough for the current players to invest seriously inthis market.

MindTree Foundation is trying to address this dead lock in multiple ways. Some of them are:

a) Leverage on its in house technical capabilities and its partner network to enable AT solu-

tions

b) Build relationships with Academic institutions and help them productize some excellent

solutions available with them

c) Absorb a significant portion of the development costs - electronic, mechanical and indus-

trial design, software development and debugging, field trials, one time manufacturing set

up costs etc, so the end product is priced purely based on material and manufacturing

costs

d) Use commercial vendors to make sure the product is built, stocked, shipped and serviced in

a professional manner, while keeping the price points affordable

e) Leverage its NGO support network to validate, socialize and market the AT


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We believe this will help generate enough interest and acceptance to the concept of AT within In-

dia and make it vibrant enough for more players to participate and enrich the market with their

diversified offerings.

When we started our AAC work, our target was to keep it under INR 10,000 (Approx USD 200.00).

Since this will support synthesized speech, multiple modes of message formulation etc, this works

out to less than 1/10th

of the similar device on the Medicare slab. However, the 10K number itself

is based on the potential funding slab from ADIP scheme that will help these devices to get within

reach of many thousands. We are confident we will reach very close to that magic number with our

current design.

Our team is already working on a new challenge to reduce the cost further by using newer ap-

proaches. Hopefully, this will ensure we also do not fall into the same trap of using an external

guideline to justify our cost/price!

We have been occasionally told that this is an idealistic model and will not work in the practical

sense. It may be so. But we will never find out if we dont try!

A T for the visually impaired Vaishanavi KasturiI was diagnosed as Retinotis Pigmentosa at the age of 12 . Never the less my parents have sup-

ported me throughout my life and are still supporting me. The first decision I took in 8th standard

was not to choose Economics and Sociology and instead opted for Mathematics and Science. Since

I go this condition at a later age, I never learnt Braille. My mother used to teach mathematics

(especially figures) by drawing them on my wrist so that I could feel and understand to dictate to

the scribe. I got 82% in mathematics. This helped me understand that I can perform under severechallenges and also prove it to others.

Assistive technology helps visually challenged people to a great extent. In todays world with the

advancement of technology it is very easy for differently-abled people. There are various kinds of

technologies which could be used.

I used a recorder which helped me to record during class hours and once I reach home, I used to

put every day notes in the system with the help of JAWS. I also use the talking watch which helps

me in knowing the time. I also use a software called Talks which is a talking software on my phone.

It helps me to read messages, phone book, address book, etc. I also use the cane for moving

around at times and I am independent.

I joined MindTree Foundation in June 2009 as an intern. Based on my performance I was put on

contract from April 2010. From July 2010 MindTree has absorbed me as a full-time employee after

evaluating my performance. Hence it is extremely easy for differently abled people to work in the

corporate environment.

I am part of Knowledge Services from December 2009. I have learnt a lot being part of that team.

Derick and his team has helped me a lot in laying a strong foundation in analytics. I was part of a


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trade promotion launch which is an excellent exposure for me. I would like to thank MindTree for

having given me this wonderful opportunity.

I was part of a customer call where I developed Key Performance indicators as a comparison of

various competing companies in the clients business. This study was undertaken in order to under-

stand which attributes the competition has that the client does not have and vise versa. Along with

this I had also developed business questions with the help of which we could obtain solutions for

those questions. It gives me immense pleasure that I was part of international client calls.

Its important for us to work hard, prove ourselves and then the organization will absorb us. Hence

I have achieved success after facing various challenges.

Assistive Technologies -Awareness is Key Prashanth Kamath

This is a true story. I'd like to tell you about my friend Ananth. he is a brilliant young man. There is a

problem - he is unable to express himself without the use of assistive technologies. Back in school,

he had a custom made device that he had to use in order to communicate in class. The device was

good for basic communication and he soon outgrew it. The next logical phase would be to put him

on the computer.

Ananth was more than ready to try the computer. His brilliance was such that he could master the

computer in a matter of days. So his parents decided to get him a PC. They even had a local techni-

cian visit them and take a good look at the boy - so that he could make a fair assessment of his spe-

cial needs.

The computer was purchased. Ananth was definitely extatic. He had got an entire new life. But

again there was a small problem. He could press only one key at a time. They contacted their ven-

dor - who was unable to get a solution. The problem was - he didn't know a solution even existed

for this kind of a problem. He was not alone. Even Ananth's parents were also unaware. So they

reached out to people in his school. Maybe they knew of something that could help.

And so in a couple of weeks - a possible solution came up. There was this mechanical device that

had to be fitted to the keyboard. It provided a sort of raised key near the Modifier keys. This key

when pressed could lock the modifier key in place until the next key was pressed. The problem was

solved. So Ananth's parents got in touch with the vendor of the device (which happened to be inthe United States). They had to import the device - which took about a month. The device itself

cost something like $50/- . This is quite a lot of money for a simple and small mechanical assitive

device.

As it turned out - Ananth himself would discover something - that was a much better solution.

Barely a month after the device had been fitted on his PC - Ananth figured out a way to accomplish

the same results - without using the mechanical device. How? Quite simple, Every Windows PC

comes with an accessibility feature called 'Sticky Keys'. This feature has been specially designed for


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Prashanth

Kamath

who devel-

oped the

Typing But-

PICTURES FROM THE CONFERENCE


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one touch at a time - aug 2010

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