{"id":54,"date":"2021-05-06T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-05-06T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/startups\/blog\/access-earth-is-mapping-the-largest-home-to-destination-accessibility-database\/"},"modified":"2024-10-15T01:49:11","modified_gmt":"2024-10-15T09:49:11","slug":"access-earth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/startups\/blog\/access-earth\/","title":{"rendered":"Access Earth is mapping the largest home-to-destination accessibility database"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
This week I sat down with the co-founders of Access Earth<\/a> an Irish startup that is building the world’s largest database of accessibility information, where accessibility refers to universal access to everyone regardless of the obstacles they face. Matthew McCann, CEO and Donal McClean, COO met in college and I was delighted to hear the part Microsoft played getting Access Earth started.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Donal told the story, “Back in 2014, we were both studying information technology and Microsoft came to the campus to promote the Imagine Cup<\/a>. We decided to throw our hat into the ring because this was a project that was close to Matt’s heart because of his lived experience.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n It’s a classic story of startup ideation born of opportunity and personal experience. Access Earth came together with a hugely ambitious plan to address a market need that Matt knew acutely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Matt explained, “I have cerebral palsy and I use a rollator to get around. I was in London for the 2012 Paralympics and the hotel I booked said it was accessible on their website. But when I got there, there were steps leading up to it. I went to a second hotel and the only wheelchair-accessible room was on the ground floor and it still had steps leading to it.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was this kind of frustration that fuelled the vision of Access Earth. It’s not just about making sure that everyone has access to a concert hall or a sports stadium, it’s about what Matt and Donal describe as providing a seat-to-seat solution for getting from your home to the perfect spot in the venue of your choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Matt was also clear on the target audience for the information that Access Earth provides, “It isn’t just for wheelchair users. You might have sprained your ankle and be using crutches temporarily. We also know that some people have accessibility issues just by virtue of getting older. We want the relevant information to be available for every user, and just as easy to find as the venue’s opening hours or public transport options.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Building a comprehensive database of accessibility information is not a small undertaking, Donal explained, “We’ve been in the European Space Agency’s business Incubation Center so we can start developing above-ground photographs and combining bash with our own AI-trained image classifier to identify car parking spaces within the built environment. The challenge is making sure that we can connect that database to those that need that information the most.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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