WATERTOWN, Mass., October 09, 2025 — On October 7, the Howe Innovation Center at Perkins School for the Blind hosted a DisabilityTech Pitch Challenge featuring nine start-up companies showcasing their assistive and adaptive technologies to create a more accessible world. Tatum Robotics won the grand prize of $5,000 for its robotic system that translates English into tactile fingerspelling, HapWare won $2,500 for its communication system using computer vision and haptic technology for people who are blind, low-vision, or Deafblind, and the people’s choice award of $2,500 went to Cami Health for its personal assistant software application for caregivers of disabled children.
Tatum Robotics is an innovative robotic system that translates English into tactile fingerspelling, enabling deafblind individuals to accurately and comfortably access communication in real-time. Tatum Robotics envisions a world where deafblind individuals can access media, explore news, and importantly, interact in their preferred language while maintaining autonomy and control of their experience.
The event was sponsored by Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation (MEAF) in celebration of its 35th anniversary of empowering youth with disabilities to lead productive lives. Those in attendance for the competition included MEAF board members, advisors and grant recipients; volunteer leaders and executives from Mitsubishi Electric Group companies in the U.S. and Japan; Perkins Trustees and staff; and local leaders and venture capitalists.
“Accelerating accessibility requires convening the full DisabilityTech ecosystem—entrepreneurs, people with disabilities, investors, and forward-thinking organizations like Mitsubishi Electric,” said Sandy K. Lacey, Executive Director of the Howe Innovation Center at Perkins School for the Blind. “Breakthrough innovation happens when lived experience and entrepreneurial ingenuity come together to tackle real-world challenges. That’s how we drive solutions that scale and systems that change.”
“Our goal is to transform into an innovative company with technologies and solutions that make life better for everyone,” says Mike Corbo, president of MEAF and executive officer and chief representative of the Americas region for Mitsubishi Electric Corporation. “In the spring, we launched the Mitsubishi Electric Innovation Center in Cambridge, and this fall, we are excited to extend our focus on inclusive technology through our philanthropic collaboration with Perkins.”
Michah Kotch, a partner with Blackhorn Ventures provided coaching in advance of the pitch event, and the distinguished panel of judges were:
Vicki Wu Davis, Investor and Ecosystem Builder, YouthCITIES
Kerry Jordan, Chief of Staff, City of Boston Innovation and Technology
Phil Orlik, Vice President, Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories
Brittany Palmer, Managing Partner, Adaptation Ventures
Zafer Sahinoglu, Vice President, Innovation, Mitsubishi Electric U.S., Inc.
This is the second pitch event MEAF has supported. MEAF provided funding to the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) Foundation to support its Digital HealthTech Challenge during CES2025 in January, in partnership with the WITH Foundation.
“As we celebrate 35 years of helping youth with disabilities successfully transition from school to work, we are thrilled to support Perkins and the development of new technologies, like Tatum Robotics, to facilitate inclusion and independence for people with disabilities in the years ahead,” said Kevin R. Webb, executive director, MEAF and head of sustainability and social impact at Mitsubishi Electric U.S., Inc.