A cold wallet with ADA integration for the visually impaired

[GENERAL] Name and surname of main applicant

Alexandros Ntolgkov

[GENERAL] Are you delivering this project as an individual or as an entity (whether formally incorporated or not)

Individual

[GENERAL] Requested funds in ada

95000

[GENERAL] Please specify how many months you expect your project to last (from 2-12 months)

12

[GENERAL] Please indicate if your proposal has been auto-translated into English from another language

No

[GENERAL] Summarize your solution to the problem (200-character limit including spaces)

A cold wallet that has braille support, tactile buttons and a screen reader to allow those with visual impairments to participate in the digital economy as well

[GENERAL] Does your project have any dependencies on other organizations, technical or otherwise?

Yes

[GENERAL] If YES, please describe what the dependency is and why you believe it is essential for your project’s delivery. If NO, please write “No dependencies.”

In order to create the proof of concept I will need accessibility consultants to research how they currently use electronics, what works, what does not and for them to test the proof of concept during the testing period and give feedback.

I will need 3D printing companies to create the first proof of concept, companies that will sell the necessary components, software development.

[GENERAL] Will your project’s output/s be fully open source?

Yes

[GENERAL] Please provide here more information on the open source status of your project outputs

In the same way that Ledger and Trezor are open source

[SOLUTION] Please describe your proposed solution

A cold wallet that has braille support, tactile buttons and a screen reader to allow those with visual impairments to participate in the digital economy as well

[IMPACT] Please define the positive impact your project will have on the wider Cardano community

Creating a product that will enable visually impaired users to access the Cardano community whereas it was either impossible or very difficult for them to do so before. Moreover, it must be next to impossible to use hardware wallets for visually impaired people due to lack of voice commands and braille.

[CAPABILITY & FEASIBILITY] What is your capability to deliver your project with high levels of trust and accountability? How do you intend to validate if your approach is feasible?

I have an MSc in Blockchain and Digital Currency by the University of Nicosia and have been in the space for 4 years now. I have been using several wallets while I have been in the industry and know what is good and what is not in terms of user interface and general use of hardware wallets and want to bring this now to the visually impaired by adding technologies and features that would make it either possible or much easier for them to participate in the digital economy.

I have started multiple projects from events to departments in companies from 0 and brought them to 1 and hence I am no stranger to low budgets, bootstrapping, creativity and bringing down costs.

[PROJECT MILESTONES] What are the key milestones you need to achieve in order to complete your project successfully?

Research:

Milestone Outputs:

• Interviewing visually impaired users on their needs, challenges faced when using electronics and conventional crypto hardware wallets.
• Different use case scenarios.
• Different needs
• Market analysis of different solutions and the difficulty they pose to visually impaired people to use.

Acceptance Criteria

• At least 20 - 50 blind users interviewed to gather qualitative data.
• Review of at least 3 to 5 existing hardware wallets and their accessibility features.
• Ledger
• Trezor
• NGRAVE
• Keystone
• Safepal
• Identifying key features required for accessibility that are missing in the above products.

C: Evidence of Milestone Completion

• Documenting user feedback, survey data, Market analysis and other data and presenting it as a report.

Product Design:

A: Milestone Outputs

• Concept sketches and initial design of the cold wallet product and its specifications
• Creation of user personas and different use case scenarios

B: Acceptance Criteria

• Sketches should have tactile buttons, Braille support and voice output included to be accepted
• User personas and scenarios adequately represent the target user base and their specific needs.
• Based on the research phase above

C: Evidence of Milestone Completion

• Presentation of concept sketches and design specifications.
• Documentation of user personas and use scenarios.

Prototype Development :

A: Milestone Outputs

• Researching components for the hardware wallet
• Researching 3D printing companies to lower costs of proof of concept
• Creation of hardware wallet
• Researching software developer(s) to create software and integrate ADA into the wallet
• Creation of prototype

B: Acceptance Criteria

• Prototype must allow users to perform all basic wallet functions
• Send
• Receive
• Check balance without visual input.
• User feedback systems (audio and tactile) must be fully integrated and functional.

C: Evidence of Milestone Completion

• Video demonstration of the prototype being used by a blind user.
• logs and software code review.

If funds remain:

A: Milestone outputs:

• Gather user feedback on Proof of Concept to improve in the next stage that of MVP
• Research Security Certifications

B: Acceptance criteria:

• Gathering feedback from users about the PoC and how to improve it and documenting it
• Gathering and Documenting the specifications and requirements for the different Security Certifications and how to obtain them

C: Evidence of Milestone completion:

• Presentation of the findings

[RESOURCES] Who is in the project team and what are their roles?

Alexandros Ntolgkov: Project Leader

[BUDGET & COSTS] Please provide a cost breakdown of the proposed work and resources

User Research: 20.000 ADA

• Hiring accessibility consultants
• Outreach
• Surveys
• Analysing existing products for visually impaired users needs
• Buying samples of the aforementioned products for the users to use

Concept Development: 30.000 ADA

• Funding design concepts
• Hiring experienced designers with accessibility technologies

PoC Development: 50.000 ADA

• Components purchasing for hardware wallet
• 3D printing hardware wallet
• Software development
• Testing PoC

[VALUE FOR MONEY] How does the cost of the project represent value for money for the Cardano ecosystem?

According to Stepston, the average freelance annual Salary in Belgium is almost 40k EUR:

https://www.stepstone.be/salary/Freelancer.html#:~:text=As%20a%20Freelancer%20you%20can,the%20occupation%20Freelancer%20in%20Belgium.

According to Salary Expert accessibility consultants earn between 50k to 90k eur per year when it comes to digital consulting:

https://www.salaryexpert.com/salary/job/specialist-digital-accessibility/belgium/brussels

In the worst case scenario, depending on complexity, the PoC product cost will range from 750 eur to 3100 materials included.

If we take a rate of 30 eur per hour per consultant and get 20 consultants for 10 hours that would be 6000 euro

3100 + 6000 = 9100

This should allow for 25,000 to 31,000 euro for the software development of a simple wallet that can send, receive and read balances while also having voice assistant.