Communicating with loved ones at a glance is more or less the promise of Wyes. This “altruistic start-up” is developing a pair of connected glasses for people suffering from an illness which deprives them of the use of speech. The principle ? “To allow paralyzed people to find a new means of communication”, explains Maxime Loubar, at the origin of this ambitious project.
The stakes are high, because these are patients “locked in their body, who no longer have the possibility of communicating by speech, by hands, by writing or quite simply by a finger on a touch screen. They only have their eyes that work, ”he explains. The idea is to help them “find their place in society” through communication.
The young shoot accompanied by the Paris-Dauphine Incubator has just raised nearly 37,000 euros thanks to its latest crowdfunding campaign posted on
KissKissBankBank. A big step which should allow in a little over a year to lead to the construction of a new product even more successful than the first prototypes.
A student project that has become a technological tool
Maxime Loubar started this handitech project at the end of 2016, while he was still a student at the ECE engineering school. At the time, with her future partner Sarah Mougharabel, they created a prototype for only… 30 euros. The beginnings of a project which will then gradually take shape, until it becomes the start-up Wyes. Pierre Jankowiez, a third partner, will join the adventure when the company is created.
The initial idea, Maxime Loubar had it through the difficult experience he had with his grandmother, affected by a rare and neurodegenerative disease which completely paralyzed her. Today, the future Wyes glasses are intended for several profiles of patients, in particular suffering from Charcot’s disease, “as well as other pathologies which have the same effects”, adds Maxime Loubar.
Connected glasses will allow its users to communicate quickly with their caregivers, but also to participate in daily discussions. The goal is for them to be able to regain an “ability to express themselves normally with the people they love” and to participate, for example in family discussions. The entrepreneur also wants them to be able to continue “to go on the Internet, on social networks, to exchange ideas, to have fun, to get involved” and that they thus find “a form of freedom”, he concludes.
The young entrepreneur also intends to be able to offer a tool at an accessible price and partially reimbursable by mutuals. According to Maxime Loubar, the already existing alternatives are marketed for no less than 15,000 euros. With its connected glasses, Wyes hopes to offer its solution around 1,000 euros.
Meet the patients
The next few months should speed things up for Maxime Loubar and his two associates. On the program: development of artificial intelligence, passage of certifications “to prove that the device is reliable”, as well as new tests of the next prototype with patients. A job that is already well underway and above all an essential dialogue. “From the start, we have had a prototype that is constantly evolving,” he says with satisfaction.
Thanks to meetings with its future users, Wyes is upgrading its glasses and allowing people with disabilities to participate in the various improvements. “It does them good not only to be consumers, but also to be the players in the solutions from which they will benefit. They feel they are helpful. I think it’s really essential for them. “