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Google.org Pledges $20 Million to Support Disability Technologies The money is spread across 29 programs working on disability technologies. Here are five examples.

By Jessica Conditt

entrepreneur daily

This story originally appeared on Engadget

Google

The World Health Organization estimates 1 billion people across the world live with disabilities, and Google's philanthropy division, Google.org, just pledged $20 million to help improve their situations. The money is spread across 29 programs working on disability technologies -- the average amount they'll each receive is $750,000, with six of the grant winners getting more than $1 million, Wired reports.

The programs fall into five categories of disabilities -- hearing, mobility, cognitive, vision and communication -- and the winning programs tackle a variety of issues. Here are a few examples:

  • My Human Kit connects people who need prosthetics with low-cost 3D-printed solutions.
  • The Center for Discovery is building an open-source add-on that turns any manual wheelchair into a power chair.
  • Perkins School for the Blind wants to roll out more detailed GPS instructions to ensure the visually impaired don't get left behind when independently navigating the real world.
  • The Dan Marino Foundation is developing a digital, interactive system to help young people on the autism spectrum train for job interviews.
  • The Leprosy Mission Trust India is making low-cost custom footwear that enables people with leprosy to maintain their ability to walk.

In related accessibility news, Google recently rolled out the beta for its Voice Access system, which allows users to navigate their phones via voice commands.

Jessica Conditt

Senior Reporter at Engadget

Jessica Conditt is a professional nerd, specializing in independent gaming, eSports and Harry Potter. She's written for online outlets since 2008, with four years as senior reporter at Joystiq. She's also a sci-fi novelist with a completed manuscript floating through the mysterious ether of potential publishers. Conditt graduated from ASU's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism in 2011 with a bachelor's in journalism.

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