We are honored to have Simeone Scaramozzino of Trans Tech Milan interview our CEO Andreas Forsland about what we have been working on at Cognixion.
Scroll through to read Alison Keiper’s piece on the the interview.
Almost half a billion people worldwide have a speech disability, yet only 3% of them have access to technology that could help them connect and interact with the world around them.
Imagine what the world could look like if each of these people were empowered? To contribute their voices. To share their ideas. To express their full potential. We could have artists, scientists, creators, engineers, change-makers, philosophers, and more among us with undiscovered talents that could revolutionise society.
This has been the mission of Santa Barbara, California-based company Cognixion since its founding in 2014 — to unlock self-expression, connection, and inclusion for those who may otherwise be marginalized.
Andreas Forsland, Founder & CEO of Cognixion, joined Simeone Scaramozzino, Chapter Leader of Transformative Technology Milan, in a virtual event to discuss how Cognixion is developing affordable and accessible technology and getting it into the hands of more people who need it.
The inspiration for Cognixion manifested in 2012 when, during a trip to California, Forsland’s mother suffered from an aggressive case of pneumonia, so severe that she was placed on a ventilator for 7 weeks. After experiencing first-hand the difficulties and frustration in trying to communicate with a loved one unable to speak, Forsland was inspired to find solutions for people with communication challenges.
Drawing from his background in design and healthcare consumer electronics, Forsland founded Cognixion to break down communication barriers and empower people through technology that is affordable, accessible, and intuitive to set up and use.
Cognixion’s award-winning app, Speakprose. Photo by Cognixion
Recently earning recognition as a top 21 neurotech startup to watch, Cognixion develops neuroprosthetic software and wearables that enable people with complex disabilities to utilise their face, eyes, and brain as a direct control interface to express themselves.
Their “think to speak” technology aims to address the human interaction needs of those with autism, down syndrome, traumatic brain injury, stroke, cancer, cerebral palsy, Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis, ALS, and more.
Each communication challenge is unique and has a wide spread of parameters to design for. Cognixion builds on whichever user abilities are available — hearing, touch, gesture, movement, or even simply attention to the environment.
To build solutions for users in a way that is humane and respectful of their abilities, Forsland explains that Cognixion has developed “a technical framework that allows people to personalise for their own experiences so they can access communication with less effort.” They employ a range of technologies — brain computer interfaces (BCIs), artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality (AR), and eye-tracking and facial recognition technology — to design truly augmentative conversational interfaces.
With Cognixion’s AI-powered neurotechnology, users are able to respond more quickly in conversation and get to the words they want to say faster, up to 10x faster than any other solution on the market.
“It’s like a neuro-bionic capability — our technology is so easy and natural to use that it quickly becomes a digital extension of someone’s body and abilities. Like a superpower.” — Andreas Forsland
Cognixion currently has an application available in the Apple App store: award-winning SpeakProse and the recently launched upgrade SpeakProse Pro+. Both have either a free trial or free version as well as a paid version. By providing software that can be easily downloaded, Cognixion aims to improve access to affordable assistive technology and give control back to people rather than requiring them to go through more convoluted and time-consuming channels, such as through insurance or a clinical evaluation.
In early 2021, Cognixion expects to launch a new wearable, which Forsland describes as a “heads-up display that includes AR and a BCI. It’s a complete integrated system that includes BCI electronics using EEG [electroencephalogram] as well as the accessibility of using head gaze and other things for controlling the AR environment. It’s essentially one elegant solution that can accommodate a variety of access methods within a very simple form factor.”
While Cognixion is currently focused on addressing the specific needs of those with communication disabilities, Forsland describes Cognixion’s work as a pebble in the water that could have a much larger ripple effect into the global community. Viewing the world through a lens of universal design, Forsland believes that by focusing on a unique need, the world benefits when those solutions can be adopted universally.
“By designing for the least of us, we benefit the most of us.” — Andreas Forsland
A philosophy that motivates Cognixion’s work, universal design is a design approach that considers the wide spectrum of human abilities and improves accessibility and inclusivity. When something is universally designed, it can be used easily by everyone. One of the most common examples of universal design is the sidewalk ramp. Originally designed for those with wheelchairs to conveniently and safely use sidewalks, it also benefits small children, seniors, people riding bikes, parents pushing strollers, and others.
From Forsland’s perspective, “20% of the world has a disability, and 100% will become old,” meaning that, in a sense, we are only temporarily abled. “By focusing all of our attention and efforts and energy into designing for people with disabilities, you truly are designing for everyone because eventually we all may end up needing to use the tools that we’re creating today.”
By translating universal design approaches and improving accessibility to assistive technology, Cognixion is building a more equitable and inclusive world — a world where “you have new ideas and new voices being expressed, you have people fulfilling themselves… And not just what they can do, but the network effect… For any individual that has a disability, they have a family, they have friends, they have their first and second and third degree circles in their social graph that also benefit by that individual being empowered… There’s this huge ripple effect.”
Watch a recording of the full discussion here:
Article Written By:
Alison Keiper
Patent agent, engineer, & wellness enthusiast exploring science, tech, & transformation