Hyderabad-based startup Grailmaker helps physically challenged with assistive tech solutions

Grailmaker's mission is to create an inclusive society for persons with disabilities through affordable and appropriate technological innovations

Hyderabad: When one of their close friends, Aishwarya, lost her vision due to a brain tumor, Prathyusha Potharaju, Vivian Manohar and Nivedha Cristabel decided to help her to face challenges. And that is how the Hyderabad-based startup Grailmaker Innovations Private Limited came into being in 2021, with the aim being innovating assistive technology solutions for persons with physical challenges.

The company’s mission is to create an inclusive society for persons with disabilities through affordable and appropriate technological innovations. They have developed two products Spacefelt and Vision Nanny, specifically designed for visually impaired individuals.

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Spacefelt is an app to increase accessibility for visually impaired individuals. It utilizes QR codes installed in public places to provide descriptions and orientation details. For instance, when a visually impaired person visits an office with QR codes installed, they can access information about the location of conference halls, rooms, walk areas, toilets, and more, without needing assistance. This app aims to bridge the gap in Braille literacy in India, where the rate is only 1 percent, by offering an alternative means of accessing information, they said.

Spacefelt consists of adhesive QR tags and a dedicated smartphone app. Users can attach the QR tags to objects they wish to identify, and then scan the tags with the app to record text or audio descriptions of the items. A partnership with LV Prasad Eye Institute and their involvement with the visually impaired community in Hyderabad helped shape their ideas and test their prototypes, said Pratyusha.

Along with Spacefelt, they developed Vision Nanny, a digital platform that provides personalized home-based intervention for children with Cerebral Visual Impairment (CVI). Vision Nanny digitizes vision rehabilitation, allowing people to access it from anywhere, she added.

The startup received mentoring support in making the product market ready from Telangana State Innovation Cell (TSIC), IKP knowledge Park and SR foundation. The company has also made Purple Fest, an event organized by the Government of Goa, accessible with the help of Spacefelt.