Mitsubishi Electric, Perkins School for the Blind co-host DisabilityTech Pitch Challenge

Mitsubishi Electric and the Howe Innovation Center at Perkins School for the Blind co-hosted a DisabilityTech Pitch Challenge featuring nine start-up companies showcasing their assistive and adaptive technologies to create a more accessible world. 

At the event, Tatum Robotics won the grand prize of $5,000 for its robotic system that translates English into tactile fingerspelling.

HapWare won $2,500 for its communication system using computer vision and haptic technology for people who are blind, low-vision or deafblind.

And the people’s choice award, with a $2,500 prize, went to Cami Health for its personal assistant software application for caregivers of disabled children.

DisabilityTech Pitch Challenge information

The event was sponsored by Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation (MEAF) in celebration of its 35^th anniversary of empowering youth with disabilities to lead productive lives. Those in attendance for the competition included MEAF board members, advisors and grant recipients; volunteer leaders and executives from Mitsubishi Electric Group companies in the U.S. and Japan; Perkins Trustees and staff; and local leaders and venture capitalists.

“Accelerating accessibility requires convening the full DisabilityTech ecosystem - entrepreneurs, people with disabilities, investors and forward-thinking organizations like Mitsubishi Electric,” said Sandy K. Lacey, executive director of the Howe Innovation Center at Perkins School for the Blind. “Breakthrough innovation happens when lived experience and entrepreneurial ingenuity come together to tackle real-world challenges. That’s how we drive solutions that scale and systems that change.”

Mitsubishi Electric stated that Tatum Robotics is an innovative robotic system that translates English into tactile fingerspelling, enabling deafblind individuals to accurately and comfortably access communication in real-time.

Tatum Robotics said it envisions a world where deafblind individuals can access media, explore news and importantly, interact in their preferred language while maintaining autonomy and control of their experience.

“Our goal is to transform into an innovative company with technologies and solutions that make life better for everyone,” says Mike Corbo, president of MEAF and executive officer and chief representative of the Americas region for Mitsubishi Electric Corporation. “In the spring, we launched the Mitsubishi Electric Innovation Center in Cambridge, and this fall, we are excited to extend our focus on inclusive technology through our philanthropic collaboration with Perkins.”