Google.org, the philanthropic arm of Google, announced the Google Disability Challenge last year to which they recently announced the 30 winners that were chosen out of over a thousand applicants from 88 countries. The winners would receive an average of %750,000 each to help them develop technology that would help the disabled. Some of these projects were high tech such as 3-D printing prosthesis, creating software that helps people with Autism Spectrum Disorders practice job interviews on digital people, a device that can turn a manual wheel chair into a power wheel chair, and an on-screen keyboard that helps people with impaired moral skilled type with their hands. Not all of the products that Google selected and supported were not high tech, such as expanding the use of SMS messages to help clubfooted patients keep up with treatments. One of the projects that Google supports is Perkins School of the Blind's building of an app that crowd-sources micro-location information to identify where local bus stops are. This could be extremely benifical to the blind, as the noraml GPS today, is only accurate give or take 30 feet. For those that are blind, this was cause a problem as they wouldn't know where exactly the bus stop was. This situation happened to Joann Becker. The app will allow for a more detailed description of where things are, more speically bus stops, by asking shighted computers to share more deatiled information about bus stops they visit, such as the exact place where a bench or shelter is located. People will be motivated to share information by making it into a game or offering reward such as a discount on coffee. A final version of the app is hoped to be done next year. Perkins is not necessary working on their own to develop the app, as when they won the contest Google connected them with a team of experts to consult on their final product. This team is from Google and called Waze; they do a lot of crowdsourced clues.
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