Women-Owned Assistive Tech Sartup Puffin™ Receives $200K Grant From Veterans Affairs

Woburn, MA – April 4, 2017 –– The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has announced that My’deas, LLC’s Puffin will receive a $200,000 grant to provide technology for injured veterans to better access adapted homes. The Specially Adapted Housing Assistive Technology (SAHAT) program provides funding to projects that aim to help disabled veterans to live integrated and independent lives. As stated in the VA’s own press release, “We are very excited to see how the finished assistive technology projects will enhance the residential lives of our Veterans with severe disabilities,” said Curtis L. Coy, Deputy Under Secretary for Economic Opportunity. “These new technologies provide innovative solutions to help program participants live more independently within their homes.”

The Puffin, innovated by Adriana Mallozzi and Shana Penna, has won accolades globally including winning the top spot in the 2015 MIT Assistive Technology Hackathon. It is a breath-activated portable input device that connects to mobile devices and computers –– facilitating access to apps such as home automation systems, allowing users to control their environment with minimal assistance and aiding in reclamation and independence. Additionally, access to computers and mobile technology will allow users to increase their employment opportunities with the option to gain valuable skills, such as coding, engineering, CAD development, etc. – a subsect of jobs that are in high demand in the United States.

“From my own experiences living with a disability, I saw a need to create an inexpensive and easily-manufacturable device for the disability community,” says Mallozzi. “And that community is growing every day.”

Penna adds, “My family has a long history serving in the US military – from my grandfather who stormed Normandy, to my brother who fought in both Iraq and Afghanistan. I even served in the Massachusetts National Guard, so working with disabled vets makes me incredibly proud. We look forward to building relationships with military programs and members to ensure that the technology will meet the needs of all participants in the community.”

Mallozzi states, “The grant from the VA is a big, first step in our mission to make technology accessible for all!”

VA’s SAHAT grant competition awards up to $1,000,000 annually, $200,000 per project, on projects focused on helping disabled veterans living in adapted housing. In addition to My’deas, LLC, two other projects were also awarded funding, Prehensile Technologies and a project from the University of Pittsburg.