466 million people worldwide suffer from hearing loss according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). The number doesn’t stop growing, mainly due to the ageing population, but also to bad habits such as acoustic contamination or listening to music at high volume. It’s estimated that in 2050 the amount will reach 900 million.
International legislation obliges businesses and public institutions to guarantee the access of products, services, and spaces for the deaf in equality with the conditions of hearing people. However, discrimination is habitual, limiting their safety, independence, and capacity to contribute to society.
Visualfy has created technology, based on A.I. and machine learning, for deaf people, private businesses or public institutions committed to accessibility. They have created a pioneering system in sound recognition that uses artificial intelligence to detect, identify and translate sounds into accessible, visual alerts for the deaf or those hard of hearing. These signals are visible on any connected device, mobile, smart band, or smart bulbs.
Two solutions have come from this system, Visualfy Home and Visualfy Places, for public and private spaces. Visualfy Home detects sounds like the doorbell, fire alarms, the intercom, gas alarms or a baby’s cry. Visualfy Places’ alerts vary according to the space in which it is installed. If, for example, it’s installed in a library, its users receive accessible notifications when it’s nearing closing time or if there are any emergencies, alerts are obviously available in any situation, because safety is paramount.
Visualfy, together with deaf associations have brought the necessity for audible accessibility to the public agenda and have proposed highly innovative technological solutions.
The deaf are mostly forgotten when it comes to accessibility projects, despite making up 5% of the population.
Visualfy is a B-Corp company that dedicates 0.7% of its profits to training young deaf people in technology and are committed to having 50% of their team made up of deaf people. They produce all their content in Sign Language and in an audio-visual subtitled format. Their providers also have to duplicate the rate of people with disabilities on their staff.
Visualfy have demonstrated that it’s possible to be a tremendously efficient, productive, and profitable social impact enterprise. Companies with purpose attract talent, create value for investors and make the world a better place.
