Key2Enable Launches Smart Keyboard for People with Physical, Motor & Intellectual Disabilities on Indiegogo

December 11 13:05 2018
Singularity University Portfolio Company Key2Enable launches Key-X, the world’s first keyboard that gives people with motor, physical and intellectual disabilities full autonomy to use and control any computer, Smartphone or tablet.

Miami Gardens, FLA – Key2Enable is pleased to announce the launch of Key-X, a smart multi-functional keyboard with only eleven keys that promotes the easy, efficient and full digital inclusion of people with cerebral palsy, tremors, amputations, incoordination, Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s, Down syndrome, autism and other physical, motor and intellectual disabilities.

The keyboard is being launched through a crowdfunding campaign that is now live on Indiegogo.

“The Key-X has only eleven touch-sensitive keys that can be activated by just the blink of an eye,” explained William Oliveira, founder of Key2Enable. “Our objective was to create a multifunctional keyboard that could also give users precise control of the cursor on the screen, working like any ordinary mouse yet allowing people with motor disabilities to work, write, study, research and even play.”

Developed in Brazil, Key-X has been already tested by large groups of Brazilian users with different disabilities. The feedback has been strongly encouraging, as William Oliveira explains:

“The keyboard’s iconographic keys, which are activated in double sequences, and the fact that users can effortlessly type any alphanumeric or accentuation character, along with punctuation, symbols, and any other command that is available in a conventional keyboard, offer autonomy and even privacy to people who have so far been deprived of these.”

The number of disabled people around the world reaches the hundreds of millions. According to the National Center for Health Statistics of the CDC, in the U.S. alone, 39.5 million adults have a physical functioning difficulty, and, according to the 2016 Annual Report of Disability Statistics of the Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Disability Statistics and Demographics, the percentage of people with disabilities in the population rose from 11.9% in 2010 to 12.6% in 2013, 2014, and 2015.  

“Most people do not realize this, but disabilities take a heavy toll on disabled people’s privacy because they see themselves constantly forced to share everything with family members and caregivers since they do not conventionally have the tools to have a private digital life that only they control and enjoy,” Key2Enable’s founder stated. “With the Key-X, we are giving privacy and autonomy back to people while also allowing them to unleash their talents and skills by also being autonomous students, professionals and even gamers.”

With its well-spaced and touch-sensitive keys, the Key-X has been designed to allow users to use the panel without needing much force as much as it is sufficiently robust to resist rough touches, namely for users who need to make use of the keyboard with their feet. The keyboard is also easy to install, since it does not require any specific software in order to be used for internet browsing, social networks, text editors and even games, and its plug-and-play USB interface requires no configuration.

Due to the fact that it constitutes a unique tool for the digital emancipation and inclusion of people with many different kinds of disabilities, Key-X has been praised in Brazil by many health professionals, occupational therapists, hospital and rehabilitation center staff, and other experts who work with disabled people. In the same sense, Key2Enable has been embraced by Singularity University as one of its portfolio companies for the work that this company is doing for the digital emancipation of people with disabilities.

The campaign at Indiegogo is seeking to raise $15,000 on Indiegogo, as Key2Enable strives to generate enough funding to support the development and the large-scale production of the Key-X. Backers on the crowdfunding platform can either purchase a discounted keyboard for themselves or a loved one, or they can donate a Key-X to any hospital, rehabilitation center or other organization of their choice anywhere in the world.

People can also make smaller donations that will be matched by Key2Enable to make keyboards accessible to pre-vetted hospitals and organizations that the company wants to support. Companies wanting to give better employment opportunities to people with physical, motor and intellectual disabilities can also purchase a Key-X for these purposes while supporting the project and its goals.

For more information, please visit www.key2enable.com.

Media Contact
Company Name: Key2enable Assistive Technology
Contact Person: Media Relations
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Phone: (786) 717-7975
Country: United States
Website: www.key2enable.com