Innovative Practice 2018 on Accessibility
Mobile application allowing deaf people to make phone calls without an interpreter
Name of Innovative Practice: | Mobile application allowing deaf people to make phone calls without an interpreter |
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Organisation: | Pedius |
Country of Implementation | Italy, Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Ireland, New Zealand, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States |
PROBLEMS TARGETED
SOLUTION, INNOVATION, AND IMPACT
Pedius is the first relay service for deaf people that does not require an interpreter. Users type or speak their message into their iPhone or Android device and Pedius sends it to the contact they choose, using either the user’s own voice or an automated voice through speech synthesis. In real-time, users read the written translation of the recipient’s answer through Pedius’s voice recognition software on the display of their device.
The ease of adoption of the service for partner companies is one of the most important innovative aspects. Companies do not need to install any new hardware/software within existing switchboards, or modify current processes in any way. The operator can answer a Pedius call as any other and talk normally.
Starting with TIM Ventures (Telecom Italia Mobile, a mobile telephone service provider, one of the companies that funded the project), other companies such as BNL (Banco Nazionale di Lavoro of the international banking group BNP Paribas) and AXA Assistance Italia Group (a provider of personal, vehicle, property, and legal assistance) have decided to make their services accessible through the implementation of Pedius in their infrastructure. These cooperations have helped the service to grow and enable new features.
OUTLOOK, TRANSFERABILITY AND FUNDING

Pedius is funded by businesses such as TIM Ventures, the Italian holding company Sistema Investimenti, Embed Capital (an enterprise specialized in funding start-ups) as well as the Italian venture capital firms Principia SGR and Invitalia Ventures. In 2014, Pedius received initial funding of 410,000 Euro and an additional 1.4 million Euro during a second funding round in 2016.