茄子直播

Braze Mobility is building a low-cost navigation assistance system that can be installed on any commercial powered wheelchair to prevent collisions and provide feedback to the driver (all photos by Olivia Tomic)

茄子直播 startups build a more inclusive and accessible Toronto

Inaugural accessibility event showcases 茄子直播鈥檚 accessibility-related solutions

Rapidly evolving technology is a tool that 3.8 million Canadians living with a disability can leverage to reclaim their independence and live an increasingly barrier-free life. 

University of Toronto students, faculty and alumni are among the innovators who have been developing technologies designed to improve the lives of people of all different abilities. In honour of the International Day for Persons with Disabilities, twelve accessibility-related startups were featured this week at Accessibil-UT, 茄子直播鈥檚 inaugural innovation showcase.

Many of the startups provided solutions for navigating and interacting within the city, aligning with President Meric Gertler鈥檚 commitment to improving the state of the city ().

That included 3D printers creating and wearable technology, such as . This small and discreet wearable device for blind and partially sighted people, developed through iMerciv, allows the wearer to safely navigate around obstacles. 

Another featured startup, BreqLabs, is commercializing a wearable hand sensor capable of replicating the user鈥檚 hand in the virtual world. This sensor opens up the possibilities for gesture based computer access for all, including persons with mobility impairments.

Lindy Ledohowski, 茄子直播 alumna and former instructor at UTSC, was showcasing her startup EssayJack, an interactive web-application that offers pre-structured essay outlines to help students excel in their assignments. The platform is already being piloted in five schools and universities, and recently closed a license with an assistive technology learning centre in Thornhill, where EssayJack will be used to help high school students with learning disabilities.

鈥淚 have long been concerned with issues of equity and diversity as both an educator and scholar,鈥 said Ledohowski, co-founder and CEO of EssayJack. 鈥淭o me, education is about empowerment, empowerment for all different kinds of learners, whatever their different abilities and needs.鈥 

Accessibil-UT also celebrated the tenth anniversary of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), legislation that鈥檚 in place to ensure Ontario鈥檚 workplaces, homes and schools are accessible for all .

鈥淪ince 2005, we have collectively made great strides in addressing barriers for persons with disabilities and creating a society that aims to be inclusive of all persons,鈥 said Angela Hildyard, vice-president of Human Resources and Equity. 鈥淗owever, we are only halfway there. It鈥檚 innovations and products like those who exhibited at Accessibil-UT that can move us forward and make Ontario and 茄子直播 the most accessible province and university by 2025.鈥

Hosted jointly by the AODA Office, the (BBCIE), Government, Institution and Community Relations, and the Innovations & Partnerships Office (IPO), the event was inspired by the provincially run Accessibility Innovation Showcase at MaRS in August 2015. It was the first event of its kind at the university and likely not the last.

鈥淓vents like this are important because they highlight some of the incredible startups that are coming out of the university鈥檚 ecosystem of nine accelerators and incubators,鈥 said Karen Sievewright, managing director of the BBCIE. 鈥淲e have so many talented entrepreneurs who are working to improve the lives of those around them and we鈥檙e proud to provide them with a platform to showcase their innovations.鈥

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