Episode #14: Diego Roel: Ignored by Society, Empowered by AI - The Disability AI Revolution
Why society needs to recognise AI's power to transform the lives of the disabled
In this episode, we dive into the inspiring journey of Diego, a young entrepreneur from Mexico who turned his childhood passion for robotics into a groundbreaking assistive technology company using AI.
From building robots at age seven to founding Strap Tech at 22, Diego shares how he overcame family skepticism, educational challenges, and even a global semiconductor crisis to create innovative AI-powered devices that are transforming the lives of visually impaired individuals. His story is a testament to the power of following one's dreams, as well as the power of using AI to solve real-world problems helping improve the lives of some of the most vulnerable in society.
The conversation also explores the broader landscape of AI and startups, offering valuable insights for aspiring entrepreneurs. Diego emphasises the importance of solving genuine problems and advocates for greater accessibility in business, highlighting the often-overlooked potential of the disability market. With a mix of personal anecdotes, technical explanations, and industry perspectives, this episode provides a fascinating look at the intersection of AI, assistive technology, and entrepreneurship.
While discussions about AI often ignore the needs of the disabled and focus on dystopian fantasies, here we see how in the real world - innovative entrepreneurs like Diego and his company is using AI to improve the lives of the disabled. This episode leaves you better informed about the true potential for AI to create meaningful benefits to the lives of those too often forgotten by society.
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Diego Roel is a 22-year-old high-impact entrepreneur who passionate about creating cutting-edge technology to change how the world is understood and transformed.
At age 7, he fell in love with a Robot (as mentioned during his Ted Talks) and studied Robotics. This led him to become a robotics teacher by age 10 (teaching subjects for the next six years, such as programming and electronics).
A crucial moment in his life defined his professional career: while in the supermarket with his mother, Diego empathized with a person with motor disabilities and vowed to develop something to give them back their autonomy.
A few years later, he developed a technology for the blind and visually impaired (which years later would become Ara). This "wearable" device uses sensors similar to an autonomous car to understand what happens around a given environment and notify the user of possible collisions through vibrations. This system allows the person to decide which is the fastest and safest decision. This device offers genuine autonomy to people with visual disabilities by improving their agility twofold and reducing accidents by up to 80%.
Thanks to these achievements, Diego has won several national and international awards for the past five years, including third place in the Startup World Cup 2018 as one of the best early-stage startups competing against 50 startups (each representing their country of origin). In 2021, he was awarded 'Young tech leader of the year 2021' by "the AI Journal" and by Fast Company's "World Changing ideas" as the winner in consumer technology products and an honorable mention in the "On the rise" category. In March of this year, 2022, Diego won the Innovation Award of South By SouthWest in the category of Wearable Tech and Best Startup against 60 other global projects. This was the first time a Latin American startup stood on the winner's podium. In 2022: Best Inventions by TIME Magazine and Forbes Promises 2023.
Today, Diego is not only CEO of Strap Technologies, which employs over 35 people having offices in Guadalajara, Mexico, and Austin, Texas, but he is also an agent of change that continues to revolutionize the assistive technology industry by developing a one-of-a-kind product which is a true "breakthrough" in sensor technology and artificial intelligence.
After a year and a half of development, the company has sold hundreds of devices over the past few months in over 15 countries worldwide.
Diego was accepted into the Collective Academy, one of Latin America's most recognized Neo universities, where he studied for his Master's Degree in Business and Technology between 2020 and 2021. He was later invited to be a faculty member of the Master's degree in entrepreneurship as part of the curricular program.
Achievements:
At 16, he developed the first version of Ara, and five years later, the device was delivered to hundreds of blind people in more than 15 countries.
First Mexican to be awarded by Fast Company in 2021 for "World Changing Ideas."
First Latin American project to have won the Innovations Awards (2022) of the renowned entrepreneurship and technology festival South by SouthWest in the Wearable Tech and Best Startup categories.
The youngest student to do the Master in Business and Technology at Collective Academy and the youngest mentor to teach at that institution.
One of TIME magazine's 100 "Best Inventions" worldwide (November 2022).
Advisor for financial startups and business models in content creation.
Recently recognised “30 under 30” by FORBES.