The document summarizes a social venture plan for a robotic glove called the GCA Lotus that translates American Sign Language (ASL) into text and speech in real time. The glove aims to improve communication between deaf and hearing individuals. It has 30 touch sensors that detect hand gestures and signs in ASL, converting them into text and audio output. The plan discusses the product, market opportunity and size, operations, marketing strategy through partnerships, financial projections, and social impact of empowering the deaf community and bringing them closer to the hearing community while preserving deaf culture.

1. Communication at your Fingertips
SOCIAL VENTURE PLAN 2014
Clarence Rieu (Senior Electrical Engineering Major)
Evan Eriksen (Junior Accounting Major)
Tori Speck (Senior Applied Human Biology Major)
Alex Russell (Senior Interior Design Major)
Briana Clarke (Senior Physics Major)
Alex Lee (Freshmen English Major)

2. TABLE OF CONTENTS
Executive Summary
Market
Social Impact
Product
Operations
Organization
Financials
Appendices
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3. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Mission
The GCA Lotus seeks positively
impact the lives of deaf individuals
through modern technology. The
lotus is an automated translator,
designed to narrow the
communication gap between deaf
and hearing individuals. Such
communication might ranges from
daily interactions with family to
unexpected, exigent situations. The
lotus also seeks to make its users
more independent as translators
would no longer be needed. In
addition, this device still allows ASL
speakers to use their own language,
so that, though, unity is increased, a
unique part of the deaf culture are
embraced.
Product
The GCA Lotus is a robotic glove to
be used as a translation tool for
serving the deaf community and
their loved ones. Detecting the
gestures of the user with 30 touch
point sensors, the glove will convert
spatial position into text and audible
speech, allowing the user will be
able to sign in ASL and receive
audible instant feedback. Faceted
with adjustable sensitivity, the gloves
flexible programming will allow new
ASL learners to practice signing in
proper form.
Purpose
Believe it or not, 75 percent of
parents with deaf children are
unable to speak ASL, severely limiting
their communication with their own
children (Vieru). Those who are mute
or hearing impaired are limited in
communication options with people
unable to sign, while those who can
hear experience a steep learning
curve in learning ASL. Approximately
4,000 cases of sudden deafness in
the United States occurs each year,
The inability to communicate with
friends and family members can
easily lead to social neglect and
emotional damage, and this gap
that separates ASL speakers from the
rest of the community darkens the
world. Both hearing and deaf
communities lose an opportunity to
enrich their lives when
communication is almost impossible
between each other.
2

4. THE MARKET
Current Market
According to the NIDCD (National
Institute on Deafness and Other
Communication Disorders), there are
1,000 cases of hearing loss every
year In the US, hence, the potential
market is both vast and rapidly
growing. Hearing loss is the number
one leading injury incurred by
returning veterans, and nine out of
every ten children born deaf are
born to hearing parents. This makes
the nature of our market need
sudden and unexpected.
Dual Marketing Approach
Our marketing strategy will center
around two related but distinct
target markets. We will be selling
both to the deaf community directly,
and to hearing friends and relatives
of the deaf who want to learn ASL.
This means that we will be marketing
our product as an education tool as
well as a direct interpreter tool.
Much of the hearing market we will
be targeting may see deafness as a
crisis, developing a need to learn
ASL because of injury or unexpected
illness. We intend to reach this
segment in a way that is
empowering and encouraging,
promoting an image of the Lotus not
as a medical device, but as a
communication tool. By taking this
approach, we also avoid
stigmatizing deaf users. We will also
address both sides of this market in
the context of education,
introducing this device as a learning
tool for the deaf and the hearing,
and integrating its use into
curriculum and the lives of students.
We will rely heavily on word of mouth
and our crowdsourcing outreach to
build a base of initial customers. Our
marketing challenges will be in
presenting the quality and
effectiveness of our tools and
remaining the market leader in
innovation and product support.
Competition
In the current market there are no
direct competitors for the Lotus
device. We intend to take
advantage of that opportunity
through marketing ourselves as a
unique and empowering tool.
Currently, the existing market need is
being met by translators,
educational programs, and medical
devices such as the cochlear
implants. These options are tedious
and expensive. For example, an
introductory level American Sign
Language course at a local
community college may cost $500,
but this does not guarantee the
student’s mastery of ASL. However,
this option make look more viable
due to affordability when compared
to the minimum cost of $45,000 for
implanting a cochlear device
(NIDCD). This cost is beat by $62,000,
average yearly salary of an ASL
translator, who may charge on
average $35 per hour (Chron).The
GCA Lotus is merely a fraction of
that cost. Our automatic feedback
device will allow for learning to take
place in a flexible environment, at a
reasonable price, with the assurance
that theirs signs are correct. Our
product is more precise, portable,
and affordable. Not to mention, the
3

5. THE MARKET (CONT)
device allows the independence of
those who are deaf, qualitatively
making our product more
empowering to its hearing impaired
users.
Marketing through
Partnerships
We realize that though our product is
revolutionary in design, it is not in its
mission. Other companies share our
goal of supporting the the hearing
impaired community. We intend to
unite with them in order to more
efficiently serve the community and
increase our marketing. Currently,
we are communicating with the
Washington School for the Deaf, as
well as Gallaudette University, a
college for the deaf and hard of
hearing that has national respect for
their approach on integrating
innovative research with the tradition
of deaf culture. A partnership with
these schools will give our company
direct access to target consumers as
well as insight that would benefit our
research and development
team.Due to the novelty of our
product, we intend to be attractive
to potential advertising partners as
well. Large corporations, whose
branding focus is on community with
trending commercials of family or
unity, will see this as an attractive
opportunity of partnership. We plan
to team with their marketing teams
in advertising campaigns. Our intent
is to partner on both retailer and
consumer end for maximum benefit.
4

6. SOCIAL IMPACT
Through the GCA Lotus device we
seek to empower and support the
deaf community, while preserving
their cultural heritage, by giving
them an easy-to-use communication
tool. Our company will be self-
sufficient and profitable, being able
to accomplish our mission without
relying on charity for sustenance. This
means that our social impact will not
come at a cost to the economy, or
depend on donations to succeed,
but will rather produce more profit
that can in turn be invested back
into research and supporting the
deaf community.
Partnership with Washington
State Association of the
the deaf community seeking to
supply primary education facilities
and supporting organizations, like
WSAD, with our device to aid and
relieve some of the time and cost
constraints there are to learning ASL.
We plan on supplying the WSAD with
five gloves yearly that they can give
to financially needy families of deaf
and hard of hearing children. We will
also offer the glove at a 20 percent
discount to those who purchase the
glove through the WSAD. This
discount will be reevaluated
annually, adjusting according to
production costs.
Partnership with Gallaudet
University
Deaf
We intend to
reach out and
partner with
the
Washington
State
Association of
the Deaf
(WSAD), a
In order to insure
quality of product
and a healthy
relationship with
the deaf community we plan on
partnering with Gallaudet University,
the world leading university of
education and career development
of the deaf. Gallaudet is home to a
significant research institute,
interested in studying technologies
non-profit focused on advocating
for and improving quality of life for
the deaf and their families. The
WSAD strives to “increase visibility,
educational opportunities and
awareness with parents of deaf/hard
of hearing children,” and this is
something we are equally
passionate about. Once our
company becomes profitable in
year three, we intend to start giving
back and developing a third bottom
line. Our donation efforts will be
aimed at the education segment of
which impact communication of the
deaf. By providing Gallaudet with
five gloves, we would create an
easy opportunity for the University to
study our technology and its
effectiveness. Any suggestions made
by the University would be taken
very seriously, and our device would
be modified as necessary, in order to
best serve the needs of the deaf
community. We believe that both
parties would benefit tremendously
from this mutualistic relationship.
5

7. USER IMPACT & PRODUCT
This device will revolutionize ASL
learning and offer a new mode of
communication between the
hearing and deaf, while maintaining
the integrity of American Sign
Language. Facial expressions are a
vital part of ASL and can be lost
when the deaf are forced to
communicate with hearing
individuals only through email and
note-writing. This glove allows the
deaf user to communicate with their
natural language, while the listener is
able to appreciate the entirety of
the language- the gestures and
signs, as well as the facial
expressions- all while being able to
quickly understand that which is
being said. This provides ease of
communication for the deaf and
cultural awareness for the listener.
Hardware Flowchart
Stage 1: The gestures the user input
will be sent directly to
microprocessor
Stage 2: The Peregrine software will
receive the combination and
translate into Ascii character
Stage 3: GCA Program will save the
continuous inputs of Ascii characters
and outputs them to Text-To-Speech
& LCD Screen.
Stage 4: The outputs, Text-To-Speech
& LCD Screen will support the user’s
communication with the others.
Software Flowchart
Stage 1: The user input will directly
send to Peregrine decoding
software. This will identify translate
the user’s input as in Ascii character.
Stage 2: The word filter will constantly
save the Ascii character inputs to the
word bank. When the user executes
the inputs, the letters will collaborate
into a one word.
Stage 3: The result will transport the
data to text-to-speech program and
LCD Panel that is attached to Lotus.
The Peregrine software allows the
user to activate each unique sensor
that is attached on the surface of
the glove. By using the binary
sequence, 0 for unbent fingers and 1
for bent fingers, the user is able to
input combinations of finger gestures
quickly and efficiently. If the input
duplicates the meaning of ASL, then
the user will be able to execute the
desired output by inputting a special
function.
6

8. OPERATIONS
Production
In the first year of operation we will
have one lead engineer and two
assistant engineers. Their
responsibilities will include software
maintenance as well as research
and development, staying ahead of
competing developers." We will also
have office staff consisting of an
office manager, bookkeeper,
financial analyst, and receptionist.
Upon receiving orders, our
receptionist will notify the lead
engineer, who will provide the order
to his assistant engineers.
The engineers will manufacture
approximately 50 percent of the
quantity of gloves that were sold the
prior month to guarantee prompt
delivery and customer satisfaction.
To avoid surplus, our office manage
will market to our target customers
with promotional offers. While our
assistant engineers manufacture, our
lead will continue R&D through
product enhancement. They will be
looking into and testing new
potential uses for our product as well
as any upgrades to the software
and/or hardware for our glove.
The hardware for our glove will be
purchased through a third party
vendor and the software will be
developed on-site. Once the gloves
are manufactured they will be held
in our facility to await orders and
once our inventory gets below 25
percent of the previous months
quantity sold we will reorder from the
vendor. The engineering team will
be able to produce about three
gloves per hour having the two
engineering assistants working on the
manufacturing. The time includes
any testing needed to guarantee
the product is up to par with our
reliability standards.
Facility
The company intends to lease a
space in Auburn, Washington that is
approximately 3,000 square feet. This
will allow space for research and
development, manufacturing, and
office cubicles for the rest of our
staff. The Auburn and Kent area hubs
for shipping which will make our
routing easier when sending out
products. Because of the limited
office space in our facility, we plan
to meet potential clients and
customers at their locations for their
convenience. Meeting the customer
in their own environment may also
alleviate the customer from potential
anxiety.
Warranty
Our company will provide a
yearlong warranty limited warranty
on manufacturing defects. All
defective gloves can be returned to
the company at our expense and
will be replaced with a fully
operational glove. Our warranty
excludes any water damage that
the microprocessor can experience
as well as any physical damage due
to user negligence. Each glove will
come with a membership that is
included in the cost. Through the
membership users will be provided
with free software updates from our
company website.
7

9. ORGANIZATION
Our organization will be a limited
liability company to protect our
owners. Each employee has a set
salary and will be paid based on
their hourly wages. Profit from the
company will be used to pay back
our investors based contracts that
are agreed to by both parties and
any leftover will go to the owner. Our
staff’s salaries will be fixed until we
have five years of continuous
growth. This will guarantee
commitment from our employees as
well as success for the company until
we get well rooted. Our staff will
consist of seven employees for the
first five years of operations. We will
have an office manager who looks
over the logistics manager,
bookkeeper, and receptionist and a
lead engineer who oversees our
three assistant engineers. Our office
manager will need at least a BA in
Business Administration and will be
responsible for any issues between
his employees and making sure that
our office is running smoothly. The
receptionist should have at least an
Associates Degree and will be
responsible for customer service and
any other service type projects the
company will be involved with. The
bookkeeper will need at least an
Associates in Business and will be
responsible for all the finances of the
company. Our logistics manager will
need at least a BA in Business
Administration and will be in charge
of shipping and receiving any orders
to and from our warehouse, as well
as any other logistical needs the
company may have. The lead
engineer should have a BS in
Electrical Engineering or Software
Engineering and will make sure all
the gloves are being made that are
required and work with the logistics
manager to make sure that all orders
are being filled and shipped in a
timely manner. The assistant
engineers will participate in research
and development approved by the
lead engineer as well as
manufacture gloves for stock and
orders, they will all need to have a BS
in either Electrical Engineering or
Software Engineering.
8

10. FINANCES
Pricing
Based on our company’s expenses
and cost of raw materials
purchased, we have set our sale
price at $850. It is a valuable
technological tool, and it is a
reasonable price for the product
and membership the customers are
receiving. Even though our
corporation has the monopoly, we
realize that an altruistic product
would be sullied by unfair pricing.
We plan to sell about 40 gloves per
month on average for the first year
and growing from there once we
gain footing in the market. We plan
on becoming profitable in year
three, we will then adjust costs and
pricing and decide what selling
price to move forward with. Because
the glove is a tool for the deaf, and
we are aware that not everyone
can afford to pay $850 up front we
will also offer a payment plan. The
customer may pay $100 at the time
of purchase and then make 12
monthly payments of $70. This will
amount to $928, bringing in 10
percent interest.
Funding
GCA Lotus is structured as a for-profit
limited liability company. We expect
$176,310.75 in initial startup costs
from investors and Venture
Capitalists. Simultaneously, we are
seeking funding from organizations
such as UW Medicine, Swedish
Hospital, Amazon, and Boeing, along
with angel donors. Our company
plans to become profitable in year
three of operations which is when
investors can expect to receive
returned investments. "As companies
are looking to find new ways to help
their communities due to social
pressure, we expect to them to be
drawn as new investors of our
product
Growth Potential
According to Forbes the technology
industry is growing faster than any
other in the world, it is also growing
at an exponential rate increasing by
at least one-percent each year.
Companies like ours are the ones
leading the growth in the industry. By
staying on the cutting edge and
offering a new product like our glove
we will grow with the technology
industry and most likely faster. There
are also many potential uses for our
technology beyond the deaf
community that we can expand
into. The technology industry is
always looking for the new leading
product and that will soon be our
glove.
Associated Risk and Exit
Strategy
Being first on the market brings is
both advantageous and
disadvantageous. Out marketing
must be strategic to ensure a
positive response from targeted
consumers. These risks can be
mitigated through continued
research in partnership with the
aforementioned schools and
organizations within the deaf
community.
If we do not gain the traction we
wish to in the deaf community, we
plan to rebrand our device and
9

11. FINANCES (CONT) & REFERENCES
advertise to a different market.
Because this technology is capable
of many different applications,
multiple organizations may be willing
to buy the rights to our product to
expand their intel. Companies such
as Rosetta Stone could use it for their
language learning software, while
other companies like Nintendo and
Microsoft could look into using it for
their gaming products. The revenues
we could earn from the sale would
cover our initial and remaining
expenses.
Veteran Help Initiative. "Hearing
Impairment." Public Health. U.S. Department
of Veteran Affairs, Mar. 2002. Web. Feb.
2014.
"Cochlear Implants." Wikipedia. Wikimedia
Foundation, 2014. Web. Mar. 2014.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cochlear_impl
ant#Cost>.
Severson, Dana. "How Much Do Sign
Language Interpreters Get Paid?" Work.
Houston Chronicle, Demand Media, 2012.
Web. 14 Mar. 2014.
<http://work.chron.com/much-sign-
language-interpreters-paid-8154.html>.
Vicars, William, and CSU Sacramento.
"ASLU:American Sign Language
University."American Sign Language (ASL).
Lifeprint, n.d. Web. Mar. 2014.
<http://www.lifeprint.com/asl101/>.
10

12. APPENDICES
#1) Income Statement
11

13. #2) Extended Income Statement
12

14. #3) GCA Lotus Startup Costs
13