ARIA is a device which will allow blind people to “see” with their ears and using it will be as simple as putting on a pair of sunglasses. The project to create this has been given the greenlight as a CRC-P and will receive $2.6 million from the federal government over 2 years. It is a collaboration between lead partner ARIA Research Pty Ltd, the University of Sydney, the University of Technology Sydney, and World Access for the Blind – Australia Ltd.
We chatted with the CEO and Co-founder of ARIA Research, Robert Yearsley, soon after he received the good news to hear about his reaction.
“Winning the CRC-P grant is extraordinary news. We believe this is a really worthwhile project, built by and for the blind community. For the last two year our team of 15 researchers and engineers have been bootstrapping ARIA in their own time because they believe in the project. The CRC-P gives us the juice to commit full resources, between the University of Sydney, UTS, World Access for the Blind and our development team. It’s also a stamp of approval for us, to have the backing of the federal government. This is a huge boost for us that will help us advance R&D, raise capital and support our path to market.”
He then explained why he was so excited to get this project going.
“ARIA is the first commercially scalable solution to addressing the chronic burdens of blindness. It is a non-invasive solution that works regardless of the reason for blindness because it uses the ears.” He presented a prototype device which looked like a pair of sunglasses. “ARIA uses an advanced camera system to discriminate what is important in the nearby environment. This information is then fed to the user as sound via the ears in a form that is related to echolocation.”
“Aria is built on Aussie research and intellectual property. There are new Aussie jobs being created out of the project, and we are engaging Australian research institutions with a team of over 20 researchers. We’re aiming to manufacture it here as well. On top of all that, Australia is the best market to launch a revolutionary new technology to help someone with a disability because of the NDIS. So we are able to do this from end to end – concept to delivery all in Australia. We are launching a global company from Australia, not because it’s our backyard, but it’s actually the best place in the world to do it.”
Robert also talked about the effects of this technology.
“The potential impact of ARIA is profound. There are 338 million blind and visually impaired people in the world today. In 2050, that number will be over half a billion people. These aren’t people who just needed prescription glasses but people who are living day to day with a disability. 9 out of 10 blind people rely on someone else’s elbow for navigating the world. So, their ability to get around is dependent on another human being. We believe that ARIA will have a range of impacts from psychosocial, to health and wellbeing, the practical effect of being able to make decisions on your own terms, and say, ‘I’m going to go outside now,’ and being able to able to just do that without considering the need for someone else’s help. That is a significant effect.”
Finally, Robert told us what motivated his organisation to seek CRC-P funding for the project.
“It seemed to be one of the best programs out there which can allow an SME to build a landmark piece of technology. There is not a lot of funding out there for a project like this which requires deep engagement with researchers. This grant was large enough to give us a boost to get us moving quickly towards the market.”