Business Daily Media

Men's Weekly

.

Announcing Microsoft AI for Accessibility Hackathon APAC winners: Thailand, Singapore, and Philippines accelerate inclusive innovation

SINGAPORE - Media OutReach - 13 May 2022 - Teams from Thailand, Singapore and Philippines are winners of the Microsoft AI for Accessibility (AI4A) Hackathon in APAC. In its third year, the AI4A Hackathon features teams who are deeply committed to solving real-world challenges faced by people with disabilities (PwD).

The hackathon acts as a springboard for creators and developers to launch their applications, with cash prizes, access to Microsoft Technical experts to co-build their solutions on Microsoft Azure and continued mentoring support to build out their solution.

ABOVE: Team Asclepius from Thailand developed a sign-to-text app to help people who are deaf or hard of hearing. L-R: Krissada Singhakachain, Peerapat Sangpattrachai, Kittipon Amornprasertkij, Papop Lekhapanyaporn, Nunticha Praphanturakit
ABOVE: Team Asclepius from Thailand developed a sign-to-text app to help people who are deaf or hard of hearing. L-R: Krissada Singhakachain, Peerapat Sangpattrachai, Kittipon Amornprasertkij, Papop Lekhapanyaporn, Nunticha Praphanturakit


Drawing on real-life challenges faced by PwDs, 14 non-profit organizations (NPOs) shared problem statements that the 75 teams in the AI4A Hackathon used to build innovative solutions around the themes of transport, wearable devices and language tools.

Team Asclepius from Thailand, Team SWIFT Responders from Singapore and Team EIA from Philippines created solutions to bridge the disability divide, which include building an AI-enabled communication aid for people who are deaf, a smart system that allows people with physical disabilities to live independently, as well as inclusive banking for people who are blind.

In addition to these winners, two additional teams from Indonesia (Arabic Braille Converter) and Singapore (MeetMeHear) will receive coaching by Microsoft and its partners, including access to cloud architects, business consultation guidance to develop their solution, from a proof-of-concept to an application hosted on Microsoft Azure.

"We are inspired to see the continued enthusiasm of submissions this year for the hackathon to improve the lives of PwDs and congratulate the winners who so passionately brought their solutions to fruition," said Pratima Amonkar, Chair for D&I and Accessibility for Microsoft Asia Pacific. "The month of May will be an important time for us to see the tremendous possibility of the contribution of PwDs as we roll out exciting awareness, training and mentorship programs with our customers, partners and wider community across the region."

With more than 1 billion people with disabilities in the world, and 650 million in Asia, Microsoft believes that accessibility is essential to delivering on our mission to "empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more." Accessibility is the vehicle to enable inclusion of people with disabilities. To highlight how technology can unlock solutions that empower people with disabilities and enable transformative change within communities in APAC, Microsoft has dedicated the month of May in 2022 to Accessibility Awareness Month, with a series of workshops, trainings and events as well as awarding and celebrating winners of the AI for Accessibility Hackathon winners.

Thailand: Team Asclepius

To help people who are deaf or hard of hearing, Team Asclepius from Thailand, developed a sign-to-text application that uses AI deep learning models to capture movement sequences and body postures that predicts alphabets, words and numbers based on American Sign Language. This group of passionate high school students from Thailand have ambitious plans to include other commonly used sign languages such as British and French Sign Language and enhance it for wider tech applications such as live web events.

SG-Team-SWIFT.jpg
ABOVE: Team SWIFT Responders from Singapore developed a smart system for people with physical disabilities to live independently. L – R: Madeline Lim, Abhimanyu Bhatia; foreground: Nurulasyiqah Mohammad Taha.

Singapore: Team SWIFT Responders

From Singapore, Team SWIFT Responders designed an AI-enabled solution that supports the independent living of adult persons with muscular dystrophy who use motorized wheelchairs for mobility. The Support Wheelchair-user Independence Fall Tracker (SWIFT) smart system that they have developed renders immediate assistance to a wheelchair user who falls off-balance from their functional position. This inspires confidence for wheelchair users, and assures their caretakers, that they can live independently and engage in meaningful activity as their safety is assured.

ABOVE: Team EIA from the Philippines hard at work. They developed an inclusive banking platform for people who are blind. L – R: Christian Calonge, Ivan Christopher Carrillo
ABOVE: Team EIA from the Philippines hard at work. They developed an inclusive banking platform for people who are blind. L – R: Christian Calonge, Ivan Christopher Carrillo

Philippines: Team EIA

To build a more inclusive banking experience for the blind and the elderly, Team EIA from the Philippines developed an Accessibility and Vision Assistant (AVA), powered by AI and machine learning, that works as a smart financial assistant and mobile wallet for the blind and elderly that makes digital banking accessible and clear. This drives financial inclusion for these groups of people and enables them to access payments and banking services quickly and securely.

Two additional outstanding teams have won coaching by Microsoft and its partners to bring their projects into fully running applications hosted on Microsoft Azure:

1. Arabic Braille Converter (Indonesia): an app that could scan and convert Arabic text or graphics into Indonesian Braille format which can be read by screen readers or braille displays. It also has the function to back-translate from Arabic Braille into Arabic text.

2. MeetMeHear (Singapore): an app to assist the deaf and hard-of-hearing to better communicate with others during physical meetings, through the use of AI for speech recognition to provide more accurate live captions.

Problem Statements from Non-Profit Organizations

NPOs across the region contributed to the hackathon through problem statements, based on real experiences faced by PwD. Some of the problem statements shared include:

  • How can AI provide wearable devices that will help persons with visual impairment traverse the streets independently and safely?
  • How can AI provide accessibility for online applicant assessment tools such as language assessments, verbal reasoning tests, and abstract reasoning tests?
  • How might we automatically create closed captions for offline use to help the deaf and hard of hearing community?

The NPOs represent a variety of organizations committed to improving the lives of people with disabilities in Asia Pacific.

Korea – Korea Differently Abled Federation
Malaysia – Malaysia Pan-Disability Football Club
Philippines – AHA! Learning Center
Philippines – Atriev
Philippines – Project Inclusion
Philippines – Virtualahan
Singapore – SG Enable
Sri Lanka – MJF Charitable Foundation
Thailand – Tab Foundation
Thailand – The Redemptorist Foundation for People with Disabilities
United Nations Development Program
Vietnam – Disability Research and Capacity Development


About Microsoft

Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT" @microsoft) enables digital transformation for the era of an intelligent cloud and an intelligent edge. Its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.

#Microsoft

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

News from Asia

Tenchijin Named Finalist for IVS2025 LAUNCHPAD

Exhibiting at IVS Startup Market to Showcase Advanced Water DX Solutions TOKYO, JAPAN - Media OutReach Newswire - 30 June 2025 - Tenchijin Inc...

ESET and Canon Extends Regional Alliance to Combat Asia’s Security Challenges

SINGAPORE - Media OutReach Newswire - 30 June 2025 – ESET Asia Pte. Ltd. ("ESET"), a global leader in cybersecurity, and Canon Singapore Pte. Ltd. ("Canon") today announced the signing of a Memora...

Counterfeit and Refurbished Transducers Pose Serious Safety Risks

Merz Aesthetics® Hong Kong Launches Ultherapy® Authenticity Verification Reward Program This August Consumers Urged to Verify Ultherapy® Transducers Authenticity for Safe and Effective Treatments H...

Porsche Design Tower Bangkok and Curvistan Bangkok Host an Exclusive Preview of the "Electrifying Past. Present. Future." Exhibition

BANGKOK, THAILAND - Media OutReach Newswire - 28 April 2025 - Porsche Design Tower Bangkok showcased its commitment to innovation by hosting an exclusive evening reception with Curvistan Bangkok, ...

Hong Kong: Bridging Business Opportunities under the Belt and Road Initiative

HONG KONG SAR - Media OutReach Newswire - 30 June 2025 - As a global trade and financial centre and a key link in the Belt and Road Initiative (B&RI), Hong Kong plays a pivotal role in connect...

Octa Black: Octa broker's premium trading experience

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA - Media OutReach Newswire - 1 July 2025 - Octa, a globally regulated and trusted broker since 2011, rewards its high-value clients in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Nigeria with a...

Gaw Capital Appoints Nicholas Toh as Managing Director – Head of Data Centre Platform, Asia (Ex-China)

SINGAPORE - Media OutReach Newswire – 1 July 2025 – Gaw Capital Partners, a leading multi-asset investment management firm, is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Nicholas Toh as Managin...

Prime Immigration Consultancy Announces Expansion of Service Offerings to Help Clients Achieve the Singapore Dream

SINGAPORE - Media OutReach Newswire - 1 July 2025 - Prime Immigration Consultancy (PIC), a Singapore-based immigration consultancy, has announced an expansion of its services to provide more comp...

ICONSIAM in Collaboration with Shanghai Yuyuan Tourist Mart Group Brings China’s Most Iconic Lantern Festival to Thailand for the First Time

“Yuyuan Lantern Festival 2025” Lights Up Bangkok to Celebrate 50 Years of Thai–Chinese Diplomatic Ties BANGKOK, THAILAND - Media OutReach Newswire - 1 July 2025 - ICONSIAM, the global landmark al...

SIBUR to expand cooperation with clients in Bangladesh

MOSCOW, RUSSIA - Media OutReach Newswire - 1 July 2025 - SIBUR, Russia's largest producer of polymers and synthetic rubbers, sees potential to increase supplies to Bangladesh following the launch ...

Demand for Home Batteries surges as Federal Rebate Kicks In

A leading provider of energy solutions VoltX Energy has seen a 400% increase in demand for home batteries in the past three weeks as people put d...

Why Sport Remains the Safest Bet in an Uncertain World

When Rome was in crisis, its leaders did not retreat to the Senate. They went to the circus. To the chariot races. To the gladiators. Sport was no...

THE FINE LINE WITHIN HILARIOUS SIGNAGE DESIGN FAILS

It seems like design failures still occur in today’s modern branding era, despite rigorous rounds of approvals behind the scenes. One signage show...

Deputy Announces Exclusive Global Partnership with Predelo to Bring AI to Shift-Based Businesses

Deputy, the global people platform for shift-based businesses, has announced an exclusive partnership with Predelo, an AI Decision Agent-as-a-Serv...

Leftover Budget? The Last-Minute EOFY Tip to Drive Business Success in FY25/26

The countdown is on. With just days left until EOFY, now’s the time to make your remaining 2024–2025 budget work harder and smarter. After workin...

pay.com.au appoints new CEO and Managing Director

The former COO will lead the company’s next growth phase, with ex-CEO Edward Alder transitioning into the role of Managing Director AUSTRALIA, 25...

Sell by LayBy