Short Summary
My name is Rocky Marciano, and yes, that is my real birth given name. I am a 33 year old single father of two wonderful boys ages 4 and 6. In early 2013, I suffered severe fluctuating bilateral sudden sensorineural hearing loss due to the various hospitals mis-diagnosing and mistreating my condition. After 3 months of becoming deaf, I made the move to get hearing aids and spent almost $4000 with only two friends and my parents help to get them. I was so happy. The world that went quiet had sound again. Unfortunately this was only temporary. Over the course of the year, my left ear would completely stop responding and be labeled clinically dead. I was dependant on my right hearing aid for the better part of 9 months. Then, just like clockwork, the right ear followed and died. I now have no benefit from hearing aids, and the only solution offered by my ENT was a cochlear implant which includes invasive brain surgery, retraining of how to listen, and the implant is irreversible and permanent. I do not want to be a cyborg, but had a brilliant plan to integrate electronics to help me assist in understanding speech. The magnificent Google Glass is an amazing solution, and paired with a little more innovation, it could become a valuable tool in the deaf community. I am raising my funds to purchase a pair of Google Glass, and to program a fully functioning dictation system that will translate speech to text, and the possibility of sign language as well. The system I am designing will not require an internet connection, and the dictation processing will take place on a dedicated piece of hardware that will connect via bluetooth. There are many similar ideas, but none of them are trying to be independent of an internet connection. This also means, someone has to listen in on your private conversations, or your messages will be relayed through a server, god knows where. Not with EyeSEE! Jump in and join my revolution!
What We Need & What You Get
I am asking for $65,000 in funding and the funds will be allocated as following:
$2500 for a pair of Google Glass
$35,000 for development of the application software which includes the programming of the internet-free dictation device and the hiring of necessary programmers and coders
$1500 to file for the patent application and the rights to the specific platform being developed
$10,000 to build the prototype of the device that will process the dictation
$15,000 for miscellaneous expenses such as promotional kits and swag which includes shirt, hat, keychain, and other promotional materials to be unveiled at a later time, licensing, and any unexpected expenses that may be required for the completion of this project
Please note that any investors that do not grab a spot with perks, I will use whatever funds left over to try to get all of my sponsors some sort of promotional item! :-)
Risks & Challenges
Achieving this goal is going to be hard. Google Glass is currently only an invite program and it says you are required to be a US resident to apply for an opportunity to purchase them. I do have family that are citizens and reside in the US, but my hope is to find a pair of Google Glass that someone is privately trying to sell. There are many sets available on E-bay, so obtaining a pair of these glasses should not be a problem with the right funds.
A second challenge I face, is the stand alone processing unit for the dictation. I will require the assistance of a couple designers and programmers to help facilitate the functions required to make this system function effortlessly. Again, with the right amount of funding, it would not be a challenge.
Other Ways You Can Help
I understand that there are many people who may see this page, and not have any funds to contribute to the campaign and that is okay. You can help by sharing my story using any type of social media. Gaining exposure is equally as important as gaining investors.
If there happens to be a contributor that has a pair of Google Glass to donate, then that would help this project move along even quicker.
The best gift I can give, is to try to build a system that makes it easier to communicate. This is not only for the deaf community and could potentially change one of the ways we communicate forever.
