With the advent of mobile apps, a new era of empowerment has dawned on people with disabilities through apps designed to address significant challenges this population encounters, including independence, improved communication with their environment and new opportunities for effective daily conduct that never existed before.
Apps designed by SAP's Israel Development Center to address physical disabilities offer a variety of functions to improve mobility, accessibility, and overall quality of life. From wheelchair navigation through training routines to tools that enhance skills and coordination. These apps allow users to overcome physical limitations and engage in activities that were much more challenging or even impossible for them before. Adopting these apps enables people with physical disabilities to explore new avenues and integrate more seamlessly and significantly into their environment.
SAP developers in Israel designed the MindRamp app as part of a Hackathon the company held several years ago. The innovative app won first place in the CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) category, in collaboration with the "Flywheel" venture, operated by Beit Galgalim. The app accesses a digital log using images, symbols and sound clips according to the appointments registered on the schedule. MindRamp displays the information in a minimalist manner and follows a timeline.
Before the app was developed, institutions like Beit Galgalim displayed the agenda on erasable boards, strategically and publicly located and in legible handwriting that sometimes-compromised people's privacy and did not suit the visually impaired. Thus a digital calendar contributes to user privacy and accessibility alike.
Another app is IssieSign, designed to help users recognize and learn basic signs based on Israeli Sign Language (ISL). The app was specifically developed for people and children with complex communication needs who can use sign language to communicate and express desires and feelings.
IssieSign has been very successful amongst children and parents and is even used and recommended by the Ministry of Education for its significant contribution to the integration of people and children with disabilities into their environment and community. The SAP Development Center in Israel has also contributed significantly to the launch of this app within the context of its long-standing collaboration with Beit Issie Shapiro’s Technology Consulting Center. SAP developers volunteer their time and expertise, harnessing technology, and their skills to meet the needs introduced by the professional teams of Beit Issie Shapiro.
The two have recently announced launching an Arabic-language app to facilitate learning and familiarity with Israeli Sign Language (that fits all sectors).
This is a significant step towards accessing sign language and providing a fundamental interpersonal communication ability for other Israel populations. The IssieSign app, which is part of a series of apps developed by the SAP Center in Israel, was born out of IssieSign's success in Hebrew, and the understanding that there is a need to expand app accessibility and allow toddlers and children from additional sectors to communicate independently using signs and body language.
SAP Development Center in Israel managing director Orna Kleinmann said, "When we think about technology, we think about innovation, the next big thing. But we must not forget that even today, the most focused and authentic developments are often those that change everyday life and touch almost every one of us. Our collaborations with Beit Issie Shapiro and Beit Galgalim integrate our technology with their therapeutic expertise and together change user lives for the better. While most of the time, SAP works with global business customers, this is something else entirely. The significant gospel of these collaborations is the ability of a technological company like SAP to connect the needs of nonprofits and social organizations with our developers’ expertise and realize SAP's vision - helping the world run better and improving people's lives."
SAP Israel Development Center chief architect Ariel Bentolila added, "After receiving so much positive feedback about the IssieSign app, we realized that we had helped numerous families and that we have the technological ability to extend that solution to additional populations. We are especially excited that our technological prowess can be a significant tool for developing communication between children and adults. Over the years, we have learned through our collaboration with the team of Beit Issie Shapiro that the apps we have developed have become an integral part of many people's life routines and are a powerful tool for supporting and developing independence."
Beit Issie Shapiro Speech Language Pathologist Rachel Blum explained, "As the app reached more and more families, we realized that a basket of signs and gestures was needed. For example, seeing two-year-olds failing to express their wishes or needs is frustrating, both for them and their parents. As language therapists, it was clear that an accessible and easy solution must be found for those families. SAP's team assumed responsibility for the mission and quickly developed the Hebrew app currently used by special education institutions throughout Israel. Together with SAP, we have been able to produce technological solutions for a variety of needs, be they small or large, understanding that, for some people, we not only offered a small life improvement but have genuinely changed them for the better."
IssieSign apps in Hebrew and Arabic are available on iPads, iPhones and Android devices and can be downloaded for free from the app stores.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on August 28, 2023.
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