On the eve of the Open Innovations forum, which will be held in Moscow on October 21-23, Denis Kuleshov, General Director of the Sensor-Tech Laboratory, spoke about why investors are still afraid to invest in innovative socially significant projects and what needs to be done by the state and business to make philtech all began to develop successfully in our country.
— Why did you decide to do philtech? Why not the entertainment industry, for example?
— I found myself in social entrepreneurship at the stage of my studies at Moscow State Technical University. Bauman: I was invited to the Center for the Deaf, which was at the university. Since then, the number of projects for people with disabilities has grown exponentially. It seems to me that the ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2012 contributed to this. After that, at all levels – the state, business, universities – they began to talk about the problem.
— Your projects “Robin” (smart assistant for the blind) and “Charlie” (speech recognition device) are being implemented as part of the Neuronet NTI roadmap. What is this card?
– At the stage of creating the NTI (National Technology Initiative. -) as a large state project, it was decided to highlight promising markets, which they called “nets”. Each of them got a prefix: “Neuronet”, “Spacenet”, “Marinet”, etc. For each of these areas, a road map has been created – this is a policy document signed at the government level. He tells what projects need to be developed and in what direction in order to help the industry. We exist around the Neuronet direction, and our task is to be drivers of this direction, to create successful products.
– “Neuronet” – does this mean that your devices work on the basis of neural networks?
– Yes, for example, a neural network is loaded into each Robin device. Previously, she is trained on a large number of images – a person, a table, a chair, a car, a plate, etc. In order for the neural network to be able to distinguish these objects, it needs to analyze approximately 50 thousand images with the contours of these things. To create a neural network, the server works for 3-4 days, processing the entire amount of material. The output is a binary file, which is called a neural network. We upload it to a device with which a visually impaired or blind person scans the space around him. The neural network, meanwhile, is guessing that there is most likely a chair here, or that a car is approaching, and informs the user about it.
Robin also has facial recognition technology built into it. If a photo of a certain person is in the database, the device will recognize it. The algorithm is built as follows: unique dot masks are superimposed on each face in the photographs, and when the neural network sees that the location and number of dots are similar to what we originally programmed, it calls the name. There is also a vibration meter in “Robin” – it’s something like parking sensors: the closer to the object, the more the sensor vibrates.
“It is clear that every visually impaired or blind person needs such a device. Do investors understand this?
— In our country, it is almost impossible to convince an investor to invest in a social project at an early stage. It is very difficult to confirm that there will be revenue, that there will be a flow of orders. The field of rehabilitation facilities is regulated, and no quick projects can be done there. In order to achieve the status of a technical means of rehabilitation and be included in the list, it is necessary to obtain a registration certificate for medical devices. It all takes years, and not all investors are willing to wait five years for a sales funnel to emerge. And when sales are already underway and there are orders, this is a more understandable story for investors. Here they understand how their money will work out with less risk. So far, in our country, venture investments at an early stage of a social project, when there are only ideas and prototypes, is an extremely risky scenario for investors.
When we first opened our laboratory, we attracted 70% of the NTI grant and received 30% of co-financing from the charitable foundation for the support of the deaf-blind “Connection”. In fact, all this money is not from investors – in one case it is a grant, in the other it is a charitable donation. The condition in any case is the commercialization of the project, but we, as social entrepreneurs, are going to send part of the profits to the “Connection” fund.
– Can your devices be obtained under a quota?
I hope that changes will soon take place in our country, and a stream of innovative projects will begin to seep into the state system for providing disabled people. There is a list of technical means of rehabilitation, and the devices that are on the list can be provided to those in need free of charge. But many innovators often find themselves in a situation where they seem to see the market and understand how it works, see customers and know their needs, but as if they are standing behind a glass wall.
Now our task is to convince the state, represented by the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection, that our devices should be included in the list. This is not an easy task, because there is an approved list of devices that are purchased annually. About 30 billion rubles are spent on this. If something is added to it, it is necessary to increase the amount of budget financing. It is also impossible to remove something without affecting the interests of certain groups of people with disabilities. Now we are preparing a proposal in which we say which item can be added to the list, describe what the approximate demand will be, and under what indications the devices can be prescribed. I hope that soon this dialogue will end with something good.
There is one more nuance with quotas. It takes a year and a half to get the status of a technical means of rehabilitation. This is due to the fact that technical and toxicological tests are being carried out. For many projects, especially small ones, this is a stop factor. This is not only a long time, it is also serious money – about 1 million rubles – for examination, preparation of documents, their submission, etc.
A year and a half is a lot. During this time, new technologies may appear.
– True, but this is the specifics of our industry. Therefore, if a philtech project cannot wait, there are two ways: either cope without the help of the state – then people buy devices with their own money, or go for export. For example, for “Robin” we are now going through the certification process on Amazon. We position ourselves as an electronic device. But if we want to call ourselves a medical device, we will need to get FDA certification (Food and Drug Administration, Food and Drug Administration. -). This is a long, expensive and complicated process. In our country, we also position ourselves as computer devices. If you can attract large investments, then you can try to register in the US as medical devices. Then a large market for working with insurance companies will open.
— What are the state programs, besides those existing within the framework of the NTI, that are aimed at addressing issues of inclusiveness?
– In the Ministry of Industry and Trade, for example, there is a department for the development of the industry of socially significant goods. We are also supported by RVC, the Foundation for Assistance to the Development of Small Forms of Enterprises in the Scientific and Technical Sphere, the Skolkovo Foundation and the Moscow Government. There is also a line of NGOs. We receive support from charitable foundations such as the Presidential Grants Foundation, the Connection Foundation, and the Arts, Science and Sports Foundation.
— How are things going on the western market of philtech projects?
In principle, any innovation happens first in America. Asia is in second place. In the United States, the philtech market is very well developed, there is an incredible number of social projects and startups. This is because the topics of social responsibility, equality and equal rights appeared there a long time ago – the Americans were initially focused on this. They are very sensitive to such stories. In general, the state of the economy and the position of the United States in the international arena are conducive to thinking more about such problems.
– What are the prospects for our country in this regard?
— Personally, I see only forward movement, largely because the state has realized that the theme of inclusiveness needs to be supported. And there is no one to support this topic, except for him. Venture mechanisms are not suitable, because it is difficult for social startups to get a good assessment. If we talk about business, then I know very few entrepreneurs who took out loans and tried to make money on such a business model.
It seems to me that the ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities served as an impetus for society to turn in this direction. People are no longer afraid to talk about disability because, unfortunately, it can affect anyone. The topics of disability and inclusiveness are firmly on the agenda.