Brookfield-based information technology and consulting company Concurrency recently partnered with Chicago manufacturer Clover Imaging Group to create a mixed-reality platform to help adults with cognitive disabilities find employment.
The platform, called AI for Good, leverages Microsoft AI technologies and uses a multicomponent scanner, headset, visual and audio input to provide workers instructions on where they should go, when and how. The conversational artificial intelligence technology aspect of the platform "creates a virtual guide to help individuals with cognitive disabilities perform a job and a series of tasks that they might not otherwise be able to complete on their own," Concurrency states, adding one in four adults has a disability and unemployment is twice as high for people with disabilities.
The initial idea was to create an innovative system for Clover's warehousing operations that would to optimize the picking experience for workers. The system would provide instructions on where they should go, augmenting it with quality control and location awareness. Clover and Concurrency, Clover's technology partner, worked with Gigi’s Playhouse Down Syndrome Development Center to test the technology among individuals with cognitive disabilities. The platform is open source, meaning it's available for any company to use.
"Only a fraction of job-seeking individuals with cognitive disabilities are employed," said James Savage, founder and president of Concurrency. "I commend our talented team as well as our outstanding client and community partners. People with disabilities are especially vulnerable to Covid-19 pressures, as Microsoft noted in its recent announcement of an initiative to help 25 million people worldwide acquire digital skills. We applaud that effort and are proud to be aligned with it.”
The platform earned Concurrency a 2020 Microsoft Global Partner of the Year Finalist award and Microsoft US Partner award.
“In a time of global uncertainty, it’s incredibly gratifying to do work that positively impacts people’s everyday lives,” Savage said. “Both of these awards demonstrate the power of artificial intelligence to impact the greater good.”
