The Problem

Several specially abled individuals lack a source of income and are left dependent on others.

The Solution

Kaustav and Sabuj created a machine that is run manually and is easy to operate. Individuals can use the machine to make, store and serve two varieties of tea to customers. Moreover the machine also has the facility to wash utensils.

The Venture

Kaustav and Sabuj hope their device will be used widely in Assam where tea is a very popular drink, so they believe there will be demand for their product. They have been actively engaged with the community in designing and developing the product to make sure the product meets their requirements and will be adopted if produced at scale.

The Changemaker

Kaustav & Sabuj are fascinated by machines and robotics, and have made multiple products. They co-founded Team Eminence, a robotics group started in 2018 with an aim to promote robotics games. They won the 1st prize in the World Robotics Olympiad 2016 and the Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam IGNITE Award in 2017. They are entering university this year and aim to work in the field of energy and sustainability in the future.

The Problem

Several specially abled individuals lack a source of income and are left dependent on others.

The Solution

Kaustav and Sabuj created a machine that is run manually and is easy to operate. Individuals can use the machine to make, store and serve two varieties of tea to customers. Moreover the machine also has the facility to wash utensils.

The Venture

Kaustav and Sabuj hope their device will be used widely in Assam where tea is a very popular drink, so they believe there will be demand for their product. They have been actively engaged with the community in designing and developing the product to make sure the product meets their requirements and will be adopted if produced at scale.

The Changemaker

Kaustav & Sabuj are fascinated by machines and robotics, and have made multiple products. They co-founded Team Eminence, a robotics group started in 2018 with an aim to promote robotics games. They won the 1st prize in the World Robotics Olympiad 2016 and the Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam IGNITE Award in 2017. They are entering university this year and aim to work in the field of energy and sustainability in the future.

The Problem

A majority of people in the hearing impaired community are unable to afford the expensive technology to help them, and very few hearing enabled people to understand sign language, making it very difficult for the community to interact with others. Madhav’s mission is to provide the hearing impaired community with an affordable and accessible way to bridge the communication gap and improve their quality of life.

The Solution

Transcribe is an affordable wearable smart glass device that converts speech to text real-time and displays it on a transparent heads-up display to enable one-way communication between an able person and someone with hearing impairment. Transcribe works as a real-time captioning system for people who are at different levels of hearing impairment. Transcribe, one of the only Heads-Up Display solutions for the hearing-impaired is an affordable, scalable, and inclusive innovation that is aimed at providing accessibility and promoting growth through inclusive innovation.

The Venture

Through partnerships with multiple NGOs working with the Deaf community, he was able to understand the needs of the community and came up with a better iteration of the gasses (patent pending). He followed a rigorous user-oriented design process. Madhav has created a focus group of core users and early adopters from within the Deaf community who function as a part of his team.

The Changemaker

Madhav Lavakare is a 17-year-old high schooler from New Delhi. He’s an avid tinkerer and hacker who has always been fond of building quirky new gadgets ever since he was 6 years old. He has a keen eye for solving real-world problems and is passionate about using technology to promote greater inclusion.

The Problem

Intellectually disabled athletes are often excluded in society with little appreciation or recognition. Due to society’s indifference towards these athletes, they are often underfunded. However, competitive sports can be educational as well as integral in building self-confidence, independent thinking and a sense of pride in one’s accomplishments. Given this, it is imperative to build a supportive ecosystem for intellectually disabled athletes.

The Solution:

The overarching goal of the venture is to help intellectually disabled athletes become more accepted and respected in society. To do this, Hridey has developed the TISB (The International School of Bangalore) Swimathon, an annual event held in benefit of the Special Olympics Bharat to raise money to provide better training to special athletes.

The Venture

The TISB has the best inter-school swim team in Bangalore and Hridey has leveraged this to attract substantial amounts of sponsors. Hridey also views the Swimathon as an important way to bring together the whole school and help sensitize students to the experiences of those who are intellectually challenged. For the Swimathon, each participant is tasked with obtaining sponsors who donate certain amounts of money based on the length of the pool that is swum. The first of the TISB Swimathons was held in March of this year in which over 1.5 Million INR were raised. The money is used to improve the athlete’s training facilities, provide dietary and nutritional supplements, and pay for nutritionists and physicians. Hridey plans to open the Swimathon to students in other schools in Bangalore as well as host participants from around the world. These initiatives would help expand the fund-raising base as well as create international awareness of the experiences of intellectually disabled. Eventually, TISB plans to have Swimathon Day recognized internationally in all school calendars in which students participate in a Swimathon at their school to raise funds for associations like Special Olympics in their respective cities or countries.

To normalise the lives of these impaired people, Azmayeen Akmal, a young boy of only 14, has designed a device called ‘Digital Sign Language Interpreter’. The device is designed for the everyday use of the speech and hearing disabled people. The device has a "Leap Motion Controller" sensor that can detect hand signals. This sensor has been used on this device to identify sign language. The device identifies the sign language in 99% real-time converting sign language into text and voice. That means when a speech or hearing impaired will input sign language in the device, this device will detect the sign language through the sensor and give text and voice as output. As a result, a speech or hearing impaired will be able to express themselves easily to a person who does not know sign language. 

Labib wants to change the way the general public views people with disabilities. He recognized that Bangladeshi social norms and misconceptions surrounding disabled people reinforce the disparity between the two socially-constructed classes and decided to take action to change them. His venture, InclusionX, works to increase interactions between the general population and people with disabilities through school programs, volunteer efforts and non-exclusive events. Labib’s goal is to show the similarities between the two groups and encourage people to change the way they view people with disabilities.

Sudeepto realized that many visually impaired people in Bangladesh are unable to enjoy literature books because of the high cost of braille. Schools that can afford to purchase braille books are usually unable to purchase them in great quantities. To solve this issue, he began creating audiobook versions of popular literature books and posting them for free to his website, www.shruto.org. By using advanced technology, Sudeepto is now developing a website that the visually impaired can access with just a touch. He believes that by providing a cheaper, more accessible alternative to braille, www.shruto.org can improve the lives of the visually impaired and help tap into their enormous potential.