TO MAKE THE INFORMATION UNDERSTANDABLE FOR EVERYONE

Project Information

Capito

Grant agreement ID: 878000

DOI

10.3030/878000

Project closed

EC signature date 7 August 2019

Start date 1 August 2019

End date 30 November 2019

Funded under

• INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Innovation In SMEs

Total cost

€ 71 429,00

EU contribution

€ 50 000,00

Coordinated by

CFS CONSULTING FRANCHISE & SALES GMBH
Austria

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - Capito (TO MAKE THE INFORMATION UNDERSTANDABLE FOR EVERYONE)

Reporting period: 2019-08-01 to 2019-11-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

750 million citizens worldwide have literacy difficulties and more than 2 billion people struggle to read a sentence. There are now more illiterate in the world than six decades ago. Besides, people with functional illiteracy might be able to read and write simple words but cannot apply these skills to tasks such as reading a medicine label, balancing a chequebook, or filling out a job application.

Capito is the artificial intelligence based automated translation/simplification service which converts any complex documentation into comprehensive information in three levels of understanding (A1, A2 and B1), in German, English and Spanish languages. Every information translated by capito receives the seal of approval for “Easy Reading”.In addition to texts, capito also includes sign language videos and read aloud function for disabled people. Our goal is to dismantle barriers in the society and create equal opportunities for everyone.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

From a technical point of view, we have defined the technical process and implementation of automated simplification based on AI techniques and natural language processing (NLP), and also the linguistic developments of capito (text simplification tool and analysis tool) besides database, API development and frontend integration, among others. We have elaborated a complete Execution Plan with a risk analysis and mitigation measures. Commercially, we have performed an analysis of our target markets, updated our business and revenue streams, and also consolidated our dissemination and commercial strategy. We have updated our Freedom-to-Operate analysis and a based line scenario and financial forecast has been drafted to evaluate a five year projection.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The cost of illiteracy to the global economy is estimated at USD $1.2trillion. The effects of illiteracy are very similar in developing and developed countries. On average citizens with reading and writing difficulties earn 35% less than a literate person- with limited opportunities for employment or income generation and higher probability of poor health and higher rate of crime.

Up to 10% of the population is affected by specific Learning Disabilities, such as dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia, autism or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), which equals to two or three pupils in every classroom.

The number of international migrants worldwide reached 272 million in 2019, 51 million more than in 2010. In 2019, regionally, Europe hosts the largest number of international migrants (82 million).

Simplification and regulation of information in a user-based way have a big impact to eliminate the barriers on society between people with low literacy, people with learning difficulties & disabilities and immigrants. With capito we will create communication accessible to everyone and empower citizens to improve their education, gain a new role in society and access to well-paid and valued jobs through our analysis tool and the simplification tool which can be used as desktop software or mobile app.

Also companies might benefit from the results because they can reduce their cost for communication and attract more customers by speaking the appropriate language with each.

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