In 2017, it was estimated that over 200 million people were living with mobility issues. Of these 200 million, almost all could benefit from some kind of assistive technology.
But as helpful as assistive technologies can be, they’re still not inclusive of everyone. Most technologies, like Google Home and text-to-speech software, rely on the user having control of their arms, hands, or voice. This excludes most of the 5,000 or so people who are diagnosed with ALS each year, and potentially those affected by multiple sclerosis or spinal cord injuries.
Loro, a B2B Harvard Innovation Labs-based startup, aims to create a more inclusive companion device. Loro is a wheelchair-attachable device that pairs with an application to provide users with a broader view of their surroundings. This includes integration with smart home systems, a speech-to-text and a text-to-speech system. The device has a 360-degree rotation camera as well as eye-tracking input, made to ensure users in a variety of different conditions would be able to access its services.
“In school, I learned about all of these new emerging technologies, like AR, VR, holograms, but they’re not really accessible to people with disabilities,” said Johae Song, the CEO and co-founder of Loro. “So I really wanted to bring this assistive tech to people who deserve it.”
After meeting at Prize4Life’s Assistive Technology Hackathon, co-founders Johae Song, David Hojah, Lin Zhu, and Vanessa Cunha discovered that they had a shared passion for developing assistive devices. From there, they formed Owl, later renamed Loro, and went on to win first prize in the hackathon. The two-year-old startup counts $460,000 in capital through government grants, competition prizes and a private investment from Half Court Ventures. It is looking to raise another $200,000 in pre-seed before it closes out a $3.5 million seed round.
Commenting on the startup's name, Loro, which means parrot in Spanish, co-founder David Hojah said, “The parrot is very friendly and can assist you in doing a lot of things,” Like a parrot, Loro is meant to be a companion: intelligent and helpful, but also warm and amicable. “Loro’s mission is to empower people with physical challenges,” said Song. “We want to give them the freedom to interact with the world.”
Some of Loro’s main features are its flashlight and laser pointer as well as its “follow-cam”, a feature that allows it to recognize faces and then follow them physically. “Our core values come in three C's: control, communicate and then connect,” said Song. Loro’s value of communication translates into its speech-to-text and text-to-speech features, which uses smart predictions to reduce communication time. This is especially valuable for those using eye-tracking technologies. Right now, it can take about eight to ten minutes for users to say one sentence.
The Loro team plans to start its pilot program this July, where it will showcase 20 different devices to use with 40 different users. They’re working closely with Mass General Hospital, Veteran’s Affairs, and Paralyzed Veterans of America, testing both with spinal cord injury and multiple sclerosis patients and seniors. Throughout July and August, Loro will conduct both quantitative and qualitative surveys, monitoring what users, caregivers, family members, and medical experts alike think about their product. Sometime this summer, they plan on offering preorders and aim to officially launch Loro in November.
Correction: This article has been updated to reflect that Loro raised $460,000 in capital rather than $300,000, and that the name of their private investor is Half Court Ventures.
