Brainstorm AI 2024: Now You’re Gliding - Independence Through AI - video Dailymotion

Fortune

Presenter: Amos Miller, Founder and CEO, Glidance

Transcript

00:00Hi everyone. Are you here? Great. Thank you. I'm Amos Miller. I'm here with Paul Willard from GrepVC, one of our early investors.

00:12And before we start, I wanted to ask if you would close your eyes for a moment.

00:18Don't be afraid. It's OK. And when I snap my fingers, you can open them again.

00:26But what if I never snap? You've had sight for most of your life. You saw the smiles of a loved one.

00:35You saw the colors of spring. And now you feel the chill of uncertainty.

00:42Will you ever again be able to take that walk on an autumn day? Will you ever feel independent again?

00:49I snapped. You can open.

00:53So I'm Amos Miller. I'm the founder and CEO of Glidance. I'm also a father, a friend. I'm also blind.

01:03When I lost my sight in my early 20s, I experienced that chill.

01:10I had to go and learn how to navigate and get around independently as a blind person.

01:15While on campus learning computer science, going through the halls of London Business School, walking my daughter to kindergarten,

01:24traveling the world with Microsoft. It was stressful. It was hard.

01:31And all that time I am working at Microsoft, really building some of the most advanced technologies on the planet.

01:40NASA is landing rovers on Mars, and I knew that I had to look into how do we tap into these advancements in technology

01:49to really revolutionize independent mobility for blind people.

01:53My work led me to an investment by Satya Nadella, the CEO of Microsoft,

02:00where we developed one of the leading navigation technologies for the blind called Soundscape.

02:06It's an amazing innovation. But still, we are not getting more blind people out and about.

02:14How many blind people did you see today? Statistically, one in a hundred people.

02:20You should see more blind people out and about.

02:23So I really started to look at this problem, and I realized I want to describe to you what the problem is here.

02:33In the world there are 43 million people who are blind.

02:39The great majority lose their sight later in life from macular degeneration, glaucoma, diabetes.

02:46The numbers are expected to grow by 55% in the next 30 years.

02:51And here's the issue. It doesn't really matter how much technology we throw at them.

02:55As long as they're using a white cane or a guide dog, it's not going to work.

02:59There are only 2% of blind people who actually use canes and dogs.

03:05And why is that? Resources, money, time.

03:10It takes five years and almost $100,000 to train one blind person to use a white cane or a guide dog

03:21and have them confidently get around.

03:25In the U.S., I think the presenter told there's 1 million blind people.

03:30Actually, if you count low vision, 2 million, 3 million.

03:34The largest guide dog school trained 225 dogs last year.

03:40It's completely out of whack.

03:42The system is simply unable to cope with the volume and is failing millions of people who want to get out and about.

03:52So, imagine if we had a new kind of mobility aid.

03:58A mobility aid that was quick to learn, easy to use, and affordable.

04:03An intelligent guide that was with you, keeping you safe, guiding you around.

04:11You'll be back on your feet in no time.

04:16Our work at Glidance is pioneering the era of intelligent guides.

04:22Glide, as you can see on the screen, is an intelligent guide.

04:26Two wheels on the ground, a long handle.

04:30You hold onto the handle, you nudge the device forward.

04:34It uses autonomous driving technology to guide the person, keep you on a safe path,

04:40steer you around obstacles, and take you all the way to your destination.

04:45This is an experience that is as familiar to a blind person as holding onto someone's elbow,

04:54just like I did with Paul when I came onto the stage.

04:57So, quick to learn, easy to use, and affordability is key.

05:02Most blind people can afford to have a cell phone.

05:06Glide is designed to cost like a cell phone.

05:10$14.99 for the device, a $30 subscription,

05:15making mobility accessible to millions of people rather than just thousands.

05:22Now, under the hood, Glide is powered by our proprietary sensible wayfinding system.

05:30This is the most advanced foundational model for effective navigation

05:36in complex unstructured pedestrian environments.

05:40This means that we are not only tapping into the multi-billion dollar blind navigation market,

05:47but this platform will power the future in which embodied agents,

05:55intelligent guides, humanoids, and other robots

05:59inhabit and share the space in which we live, work, and travel.

06:05We will also empower businesses like hotels and airports and hospitals

06:11to make their spaces more accessible, improve the customer experience,

06:15and critically reduce risk of litigation due to inaccessibility.

06:22Now, our Glide has been tested by over 1,000 blind people to date.

06:29And what we've done is, what they tell us is they finally feel a sense of hope.

06:37They tell us that this is the most important innovation since the arrival of the iPhone.

06:43We've collected almost a million dollars in pre-orders.

06:48We've hired an amazing engineering team, folks from Amazon, from iRobot,

06:53from Symbotic and other places to deliver the product.

06:57We are raising funds.

07:00We are raising funds to bring the product to market in about 12 months

07:04and really position Glide to dominate the intelligent guide category.

07:10So if you're interested, please, please reach out.

07:13We'll also be doing some demos outside.

07:16And I promise you that there will come a day in which you'll delight in seeing someone glide past you

07:23on a sunny day walking their daughter to kindergarten.

Brainstorm AI 2024: Now You’re Gliding - Independence Through AI

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