Who are We
InnoSpire Technology Limited is a technology startup with a social mission dedicated to the use of technology to provide visual assistance for elderly and visually impaired people. We are an incubatee under the Incu-App programme of Hong Kong Science and Technology Park. Currently, we are developing the FIRST smart glasses in the world that can provide hybrid human-AI visual support to visually impaired people or elderly.
Additionally, we provide a mobile app to connect visually impaired people/elderly with weak eyesight to volunteers. Real-time video call support can be provided by volunteers to the users in need.
With smart glasses and/or a mobile app, the user can be supported by backend staff and or volunteers. This support can provide visual assistance to them in their daily lives. Also, it will improve the social inclusion and living standard of visually impaired/elderly people.
Social Mission
Elderly and visually impaired people, especially those of higher education and ability, do not want to be disconnected from the outside world and left behind. They want to live normal day to day lives as other people do but need assistance from time to time. For example, they want to know whether the colour of their shirt matches their jacket, identify the verification code on the computer screen when they need to sign in on a webpage or read the expiration date on food packages when they shop in supermarkets. In many circumstances, there is no one nearby to offer them help or they are too shy to ask people on the street.
In Hong Kong, unemployment among the disabled and undereducated people has always been a serious problem. It has become even worse since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. If there are job opportunities suitable for disabled and low-skill workers, this problem can be mitigated. As mentioned below, the design of our backend call centre of our smart glasses is ideal for creating jobs for this segment of the population.
Although many different social enterprises in Hong Kong can organize CSR workshops, those that can provide the first-person experience of how visually impaired people use technology products is still lacking. Our workshop is especially suitable for raising awareness of using technology to improve the lives of visually impaired people and the elderly with weak eyesight.
On the other hand, many passionate people want to be involved in volunteer activities, but they might not have enough time to devote a whole or even a half-day to participate in conventional volunteer work during a designated time and at a specific venue. As a result, these activities are not flexible. If there is an app that volunteers can help people at any time and place when they are available and automatically count their volunteer hours, they will have much more motivation to join.