Today that the Cisco Global Problem Solver Challenge 2020 winners have already been officially announced, you’ll desire to find out about each winning group and the complete story at the rear of each innovation. Year in its fourth, this online competitors awards money prizes to early-phase startups to develop a remedy that drives economic growth or solves a interpersonal or environmental problem.

We are excited so that you can find out more about the 2020 winning teams addressing a few of the biggest problems we encounter through technology-based options. I had the opportunity to consult with CURE founder, Mohamed Dhaouafi, champion of the initial Runner-Up $75,000 USD prize.

What problem can be your technology solution attempting to solve?

Dhaouafi: Our goal would be to empower people who have disabilities. And we have been currently focusing on people that have limb differences by giving them with 3D published bionic hands, hands, etc. You can find approximately 30 million individuals all over the world with limb variations and only five % of them are installed with prosthetic gadgets. That’s an enormous gap.

Besides reducing physical perform, limb distinction has many secondary results. For example, most kids missing a limb total primary school never, and most of these with limb differences, in developed countries particularly, are unemployed. It impacts their capability to get married also, have a grouped family members, etc. Its impacts, actually, are very reaching far.

What inspired one to develop this solution?

Dhaouafi: I had not been conscious about any of it when it started. Everything began when I participated in a learning college student challenge with a few friends. We were attempting to develop a system or perhaps a marketplace for healthcare devices, and something of my associates mentioned his cousin who was simply born without tactile hands. And he suggested we include prosthetics to industry, given the thousands of people in need. That’s whenever we started asking questions concerning the good reason for devoid of prosthetics. And that’s once the seed had been planted, and I experienced that it had been my purpose in lifestyle.

Unfortunately, we didn’t keep on the work together. But the task was taken by me personally on for my graduating project. During that right period, I fulfilled with that eight-year-old boy looking for a prosthetic hand, treatment, plus some assistance. That child’s loved ones was unable to supply him with prosthetics, and I has been unable to assist him – leaving me sensation a lot more disabled than he might’ve sensed. That’s when I promised myself to accomplish everything I could to greatly help improve the lifestyles of individuals with limb differences.

Can you explain the way the solution works?

Dhaouafi: Utilizing a 3D printer, we create bionic prosthetics driven by batteries. Whenever we were only available in 2017 first, we were utilizing mechanical prosthetics which were not practical, tough to utilize, and weren’t as useful as our customers needed. So, we additional EMG sensors which are put on your skin – with no medical intervention – that detect the muscle tissues’ electrical activity, which in turn causes the prosthetic to react. So, every time a person agreements their muscles to seize something the prosthetic agreements. We’ve something an easy task to make and an easy task to control now.

Then we discovered that most children don’t get a prosthetic until they’re around twenty years old, since they grow out of these prosthetic so rapidly. And, on average, a young child will require at the very least ten prosthetic devices within their first 21 years, costing a lot more than $100,000 USD. We solved that issue by producing [our prosthetics] adjustable.

Data implies that around 70 % of individuals with limb differences aren’t content with their prosthetics, and for that, our prosthetics are usually continuously customizable – by changing removable custom addresses with cool styles just, like a superhero designs. Therefore, by giving them with a customizable style – for instance, for Halloween – they’re excited showing off their distinction. We want people who have limb distinctions to be pleased with and pleased to show their differences.

Furthermore, many developed countries within Africa, Asia, and Latin American don’t possess stable usage of electricity – rendering it a challenge to help keep prosthetics charged. Therefore, we have been developing an easy-to-use wi-fi charger that utilizes solar energy.

Additionally, we produced a therapeutic solution using virtual gamification and reality. It was motivated by an eight-year-older boy I fulfilled who lost his hands from electrical shock. He was traumatized by losing really, so I wished to create a treatment that wasn’t only efficient, but fun. For kids, it’s about play.

It’s simple. A bracelet is used by the customers with sensors inside it and a digital reality headset, and the scheduled plan qualified prospects them through fun video games that simulate therapeutic workouts. For example, a casino game that imitates Spiderman can make the patient jump in one building to some other – every time they agreement their muscle tissue, [they] get factors and bonuses for every action. It all can be achieved in the home, having an online real-period follow-up with a health care provider.

How will successful a prize within the Cisco Global Issue Solver Challenge assist you to advance your organization?

Dhaouafi: Winning the initial Runner-Up prize within the Challenge can help us progress our business within so many ways. Very first, it really is helping us broaden our partnerships [within] the Cisco local community. Second, it is getting us much-needed exposure. Actually, CNN has recently contacted us. It we can accelerate our procedure and operations also. We have been attempting to purchase 3D printers – and we are able to now. We need a fresh office space – which is possible now. Lastly, I really believe it shall allow all of us to implement the proper marketing strategy. One based on effective storytelling and the inspiring tales of our users. This prize can help us obtain the needed materials also, finalize clinical trials, obtain certifications, and head to market.

How has the worldwide pandemic impacted your projects?

Dhaouafi: The good area of the pandemic will be that it shows that start-ups will be the genuine solution for today’s challenges. Also it demonstrated that telemedicine may be the new thing. We have been getting interest from clients and partners also. The bad component is that pandemic has slowed up our functions. We import lots of things. Some plain things we’re able to not reach all. We’re able to not do clinical trials furthermore. People didn’t out desire to come, and hospitals had been overwhelmed.

Why did you choose to start your personal social enterprise versus likely to work for an organization?

Dhaouafi: I like getting away from my safe place. I participated in challenging at my college, the Ecole Nationale d’Ingénieurs de Sousse (ENISo), and later on the Tunis Business College then. From then on, I participated within an international exchange system called Center East Partnership Initiative (MEPI), where I had been in the usa for six weeks. Within the scheduled program, we took a interpersonal entrepreneurship class, that was a great mixture of inspired people.

In fact, everything started when I failed my initial year of engineering and started asking existential questions about my entire life and my function nowadays. That brought me to obtain out of my safe place and to take part in several applications and opportunities within my engineering research at ENISo. I got component in the MEPI Pupil Leaders Program also, where I invested six days in the U.S., their studies at Montana Condition University, and where I met with inspiring leaders from all around the Center Africa and East. All that inspired me to become a better edition of myself. That has been my first inspiring neighborhood.

When I visited my country back, I was not exactly the same person. I needed to accomplish something with objective and that’s why I’m spending so much time on my startup these days.

What is the greatest little bit of advice you obtained about starting your interpersonal enterprise?

Dhaouafi: Possess a mission and concentrate on long-term impact, and you also shall attract the proper partners, resources, and possibilities – than concentrating on the short-term outcomes rather, as you will face a whole lot of obstacles, challenges, and disappointments.

That’s the advice President Obama provided us whenever we had our Obama Foundation Africa Leaders contact with him recently.

Do any advice will be experienced by you for following year’s applicants?

Dhaouafi: Do not discuss what you are really doing – discuss why you do it and what impact it’ll bring to your target community.

What job can you be doing in the event that you did not do that?

Dhaouafi: I really do not see myself doing another thing. But easily completed my work, I’d like to work with an NGO that delivers services to people who have disabilities.

What can be your favorite book and just why?

Dhaouafi: The best book is Discover Your Exactly why? by Simon Senik. This written book is made to inspire people to perform what they adore by finding their why. It’s all about locating our why and getting it to life, both and professionally personally.

What can be your favorite activity if you are not working?

Dhaouafi: When I’m not working, I’ve two major activities – fishing and actively playing video games. They’re both complementary and challenging for me personally.

Keep tuned in for more articles inside our blog series, featuring interviews with every Cisco Global Issue Solver Challenge 2020 successful team!

The post Meet CURE: First Runner-Up of the Cisco Global Problem Solver Challenge 2020 appeared 1st on Cisco Blogs.