Cboard AAC

Speech, voice, or language disorders affect more than 70 million people worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. While technology tools can be used to help people communicate, they are often expensive, work in limited languages, are platform-dependent, and are ultimately inaccessible to populations that need them the most. This is where Cboard comes in. 

Due to market and language constraints, these types of tools are often not accessible in low-income countries, which results in millions of people being excluded from effective communication. This is extremely problematic, as communication is a fundamental human right. Moreover, the lack of access to these tools can hinder children's language development and their ability to communicate effectively.

The idea for Cboard stems from the need for an accessible Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) tool that can be fully customized to the needs of each user. The four principles behind the project are open source, multiple languages, platform-independent, and modern UI.

Cboard can be made as simple or complex as necessary. We believe to be truly inclusive, it must be open source. Our goal is to help provide an accessible AAC tool for people worldwide, in as many languages as possible, and create a network of Cboard supporters through our open-source community. 

Cboard differentiates from all the existing solutions due to its open community, the number of languages and dialects that are available (almost 50), and the free access on many platforms (web, Windows, iOS, Android app). 

Industry leaders like Tobii DynaVox, are expensive, and software solutions like Proloquo are attached to a single platform. Finally, none of them are available in less common languages, like Serbian, Cambodian, etc.   

Cboard addresses these issues by fostering an active community that collaborates on language translations and by creating a network of partners, such as UNICEF, to facilitate deployment in low-income countries.

The target audience for our solution are individuals who have difficulty speaking, such as children or adults with any pathological condition that affects their ability to speak. For children, our solution Cboard is designed to aid language development in those with autism, cerebral palsy, down syndrome, and hearing loss. Meanwhile, for adults, it is being used to communicate quickly and fluently in those with aphasia, stroke, ALS, Alzheimer's, or any other condition that affects speech.

Our solution is highly customizable to address the needs of the different types of users. For instance, we provide communication boards using standard pictograms for children to develop language. For adults, Cboard has a live mode feature to allow free writing using a virtual keyboard. Additionally, the tool includes several features to cater to the needs of different patient conditions such as scanning mode for switch access, special buttons for eye trackers, dark mode, sizes, and many more.

The current core team of our company is made up of five members, each with unique skills. Rodrigo and Tomy are our technology experts and handle most of the design and development work, while Héctor, our CTO, is a brilliant biomedical engineer who oversees our technology strategy for the business. As for me, I'm an engineer with over two decades of experience in software development and I'm responsible for Cboard's product vision. I also coordinate open-source collaborations and ensure that our software development processes and infrastructure are up to par for software releases and deployments. 

Lastly, we have Katrina, who contributes to various aspects of the project with her diverse background in sociology. She has extensive experience in user support and collaborates on design and writing. Katrina has played a crucial role in organizing Cboard workshops in multiple languages and coordinating pilots in Argentina at the start of the project.

Despite our different backgrounds and expertise, we all share a strong commitment to helping people with disabilities. This has always been the focus of our work, and it is especially important to me as I have been diagnosed with ALS and am a strong advocate for the rights of people with disabilities. The entire Cboard team is dedicated to our mission of improving the lives of people with disabilities by giving them a voice and empowering them through technology.

Cboard is a well-known solution in the AAC field market. It is being used by patients, speech therapists, special educators, parents, and teachers all over the world. 

Together with the UNICEF Regional Office in Europe, we have carried out a pilot in Croatia, Montenegro, and Serbia, in hundred and 50 schools and educational centers. This pilot was running from November 2019 up to the end of 2020. Over 200 professionals including pre-school teachers, speech and language therapists, psychologists, occupational therapists, and special educators were trained to identify and support young children with speech, language, and communication-related difficulties who benefited from our assistive technology. For instance, we implemented Cboard in Timor-Leste, a small country where the native language is Tetum. We collaborated with native speakers to translate the application to Tetum language. We conducted a pilot program in Timor Leste with a goal to make the solution scalable at the country level. In October last year, we conducted an in-person evaluation during the middle of the pilot, wherein we observed participating schools. We are thrilled with this achievement as we were able to provide a solution for children with disabilities throughout the country, who previously did not have access to an Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) system. This highlights the significance of open-source solutions for people with disabilities. We strongly believe that our application should be inclusive and accessible, regardless of the country or language.

Currently, Cboard has 60.000 registered users, with more than 45 languages in 125 countries. 

Actually, there are many whys, I will try to summarize but believe me this question has a lot of responses, going from market and strategic reasons to personal motivation. 
In the first place, we are sure that Generative AI has the potential to revolutionize the AAC field. this is not just a phrase, behind this sentence are millions of people who can improve their access to work and socialization.

Secondly, it is a great opportunity for our small company to finally grow. We started as a small open-source project aimed at helping people who couldn't access major AAC (augmentative and alternative communication) products, and now we have the chance to reach many more people globally. Our values and mission have remained the same since day one, and the entire team is committed to this vision. 

Finally, as someone who faces multiple disabilities, I know firsthand how communication is crucial in shaping one's mind. The lack of communication is the worst thing that I have lost, and it is my dream to help others communicate as effectively as possible.

We strongly believe that MIT Solve can assist us in achieving sustainability while also expanding the reach of our solution to those who need it most.

As part of the goals supported by Microsoft's grant, last year we introduced a new  AI-powered feature designed to assist users in constructing sentences using pictograms. By analyzing user inputs and the context of their message, the AI suggests a phrase, according to pictograms and word combinations, making it easier for individuals to form coherent and meaningful sentences.

This feature empowers individuals with communication disabilities by providing them with a more efficient and supportive tool for constructing sentences, enabling them to express themselves more clearly and meaningfully.

The results show that with AI assistance, users can construct sentences more quickly and efficiently, reducing the time it takes to convey their thoughts and feelings.
Moreover, in the case of children, the AI feature is designed to grow alongside the user’s language development. It can introduce new vocabulary and sentence structures, facilitating language growth and ensuring that children can express themselves in increasingly complex ways.

The second innovation we introduced is a new tool that leverages artificial intelligence to create AAC boards. Using OpenAI model, we are developing the first AI board builder. The tool operates by entering basic information about the board's dimensions and writing a prompt about the board's purpose. The tool then generates a board with relevant vocabulary and symbols or pictograms for each word or sentence. Furthermore, the tool allows for the creation of AI-based pictograms when the generated word does not match any existing image in the pictograms database. This new tool can save valuable time for professionals who frequently create boards for their patients. Thanks to the support of the Microsoft Accessibility team, we are about to launch this new tool.

The Cboard impact on children and their families was measured with an adapted form of the Psychosocial Impact of Assistive Devices Scale (PIADS). This self-report questionnaire was designed to assess an assistive device’s effects on ‘functional independence, well-being, and quality of life. The survey results indicate a high degree of achievement at all levels of competency, self-esteem, and adaptability. Professionals reported that the children responded particularly well to the text-to-speech function.

We have piloted Cboard in many countries. The first big pilot was done in Croatia, Montenegro, and Serbia together with UNICEF. The detailed report can be found at: https://www.unicef.org/eca/doc...
Latest pilot we ran was in Timor Leste with the help of an Australian partner and the support of Microsoft. Details can be found at: https://www.cboard.io/cboard/m...

The pain points we address with this technology are related to community building, language availability, affordability, and access to a device for everyone around the world. We had the possibility of piloting Cboard in different countries with different cultures and economic development, and we realized that c board was loved in those countries that have never had an alternative communication solution due to language constraints. That depicts what is the scale of the project. We want to Impact such countries by taking advantage of the open source and the open collaboration model. 

We provide an open platform for everyone to translate and adapt Cboard to local languages. If necessary, we also offer support for text-to-speech and symbol localization. This allows the project to Impact on places that most need it.  The technology we are offering aims to address several challenges related to community building, language barriers, affordability, and access to devices for people around the world. We have piloted Cboard in various countries with diverse cultures and economic backgrounds. Our findings indicate that Cboard has been widely accepted in countries where there has not been any alternative communication solution due to language constraints. This is a testament to the scale and impact of the project. 

Our goal is to make a positive impact on these countries by leveraging the open source and open collaboration model. We offer an open platform for anyone to translate and adapt Cboard to their local language. If needed, we also provide support for text-to-speech and symbol localization. This allows the project to reach places that need it most.

We have built a complete full-stack system including a frontend web application developed using React-Redux technology, a RESTful API that uses Nodejs-Express technologies, a DB cluster based on MongoDB-mongoose technologies, a Windows app, an iOS app, and an Android app based on Cordova-PhoneGap.

The application allows users to use, edit, and create communication boards and everything is synchronized in the cloud which simplifies the collaboration between patients, families, and professionals. At the same time, we have built a global community that drives development and provides feedback and guidance for the necessities of the users. This community does provide the translations by using a collaborative translation tool called crowdin.

Last year we introduced a new  AI-powered feature designed to assist users in constructing sentences using pictograms. By analyzing user inputs and the context of their message, the AI suggest a phrase, according to pictograms and word combinations, making it easier for individuals to form coherent and meaningful sentences.

To build this enhancement, we use azure openAI api. It was really simple and straightforward to implement, we were able to pilot this with patients and professionals quickly after the initial deployment. 

The AI feature is designed to grow alongside the user’s language development. It can introduce new vocabulary and sentence structures, facilitating language growth and ensuring that children can express themselves in increasingly complex ways.

Six people in total. 

Three full-time positions. 

Three part-time positions. 

Our open source project started 6 years ago and we formed our company 5 years ago.

We are not just a team, we are a community.

Our community is a crucible of experiences and capabilities, from software developers, biomedical engineers, speech therapists, families, and people with disabilities. We treat ourselves as equals with respect and empathy.

We aim to be a global one-stop solution for technological solutions for people with disabilities. With innovation, affordability, and empathy as key motivators and guidelines.

Every day we work to improve people with disabilities lifestyle by returning the voice to all those who have lost it; we are sure that technology can empower people with disabilities.

We have identified two primary sources of income for our business. The first one is our B2B strategy, where we offer customization services to governments and organizations. We have already formed partnerships with associations, foundations, and NGOs who have expressed interest in our services. Our plan is to develop on-demand features for these organizations and offer custom deployments for them to have their own solutions.

The second source of income is our B2C strategy. We offer an affordable subscription that removes ads and provides access to additional features. Our plan is an eight-dollar subscription in developed countries.

Cboard has been able to maintain its sustainability thanks to grants and contracts for customizations and new features that we have secured with UNICEF and a couple of governments. We have received three grants from UNICEF and two grants from Microsoft. Additionally, we have signed working contracts with the Ministry of Education of Uruguay and Argentina, and several other contracts with the European office of UNICEF.

Although the freemium model has helped with the sustainability of the company, it has grown slowly. As a result, we are exploring new business models. Our current focus is on a new model to offer the solution to banks and retail stores. We will be offering custom versions of the app, adapted to the business and the environment, to provide an inclusive communication channel for their customers. We are currently in conversation with a couple of companies to implement this business model.