Innovation and social action can go hand in hand. And this was demonstrated in a recent award ceremony in Chile. The initiative “Home, Inclusion & Innovation: A solution for the future” carried out by the UC Innovation Center, Easy and 3M sought to promote proposals that would improve the quality of life within the homes of people with disabilities, through ideas that would develop adaptable devices or complementary to the equipment and furniture, allowing better habitability and access.
With more than 52 projects submitted throughout Chile and two months of intense work, the contestants managed to make an impact and contribute with revolutionary ideas; being the 6 finalist proposals arranged in an “open source” format, which will allow the free reproduction of the developed prototypes, in order to be implemented in the use and access of those who require it.
Prototypes to change and improve lives
After exhibiting their pitches and their products at a prototype fair, the winning project was Inclusen, an initiative that made the use and reach of switches available to people with disabilities; second place was awarded to Tati, a team that developed a low-cost, transportable clinical cot; while in third place was Multihand, an idea that adapts handles for various uses within the home.
Ramón Molina, Executive Director of the UC Anacleto Angelini Innovation Center, pointed out that “promoting innovative ideas, but above all with social impact, is one of the main spirits of the UC Innovation Center.”
Cristián Jure, Easy’s Business Sales Manager, said he felt “tremendous pride that Easy, together with 3M and the UC Innovation Center, have found a point in common on a subject as relevant as inclusion within the space we inhabit.” Also, Ximena Auil, general manager of 3M Cono Sur, commented that “at 3M we are committed to inclusion and to helping people release their power and ideas through science; We are firm believers that it is through the resolution of problems, however small they may seem, that a real improvement in the quality of life is achieved. That is why we are very proud of the way in which these young people have been able to reimagine and make inclusive solutions possible that will make a difference in the day-to-day lives of many”
Remotely and face-to-face
The jury was made up of experts from the UC Innovation Center, Easy, 3M, the Ibero-American Center for Personal Autonomy and Technological Support, CIAPAT and the National Disability Service, achieving representation from the public, private and academic sectors.
During the process, the participants worked on various remote and face-to-face sessions at the FabLab of the UC Innovation Center, following a methodology guided by experts that allowed them, in addition to turning their idea into a minimum viable product, professional development through through a prototyping route, through healthy competition.
The initiative, aimed at makers, students, entrepreneurs and enthusiasts, was sponsored by SENADIS. Eva Veloso, National Deputy Director of the organization, adds “We are very happy with the day we have just experienced, we hope that this type of initiative will multiply, since they are instances where a better society can be built, with meeting spaces where the university, the state and the private sector, to build a different and fairer society”.