Developmental disabilities, physical disabilities, and many dissorders can make communication hard for individuals.
Global statistics aren't well known, but currently 2,000,000 people in the US suffer from communication dissorders who could communicate better with access to various Augmented and Alternative Commmunication (AAC) devices.
AAC Devices exist, but are expensive. Let's build Augmented and Alternative Communication software which works on any device, is universal, multi-lingual, free, personalized, learns from usage, and is maintained by a community.
We have some code to work with! It's in rails. Check it out on your phone or tablet FreeAAC.org, or watch this quick video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsQN64-L-Us
Speak Freely!
This is useful to the millions of people who have communication dissabilities all over the world. Touch screen devices are becoming more and more prevelent and in the next many years almost everyone with a cell phone will have a touch screen device. Let's give the world a voice!
1. Pull out a touch screen device.
2. Open FreeAAC.org
3. Use FreeAAC.org to communicate.
The current software is very basic.
1. Improve Learning Algorithm.
2. Make Personalizable.
3. Improve voice software.
4. Improve images.
5. Make Multi Linqual
6. Turn into a native app.
FreeAAC.org is where the rails code base is currently deployed. I'm currently using eSpeak, but would prefer to have a better voice engine.
Here is some more info on AAC Devices :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augmentative_and_alternative_communication
Here is some more info about the need :
http://aac.unl.edu/AACdemog.html
I'm currently working to get speach pathologist testers. Let's build something amazing.