CHICAGO AND ORLANDO—Novatio Solutions, a leading Digital Workforce solutions provider that transforms challenging, time-consuming or labor-intensive tasks into jobs for ‘robots,” has announced a partnership with Lighthouse Works to increase the efficiency of those with vision loss through the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Lighthouse Works is a Florida-based social enterprise company that trains and employs individuals who are visually impaired.

Lighthouse Works will implement Novatio Solutions’ Digital Workers to automate aspects of its business, which include call centers, sourcing, and fulfillment services. Lighthouse contracts with for-profit companies and publicly funded agencies such as Georgia-based LED manufacturer, Forest Lighting, and Florida's Department of Economic Opportunity. Lighthouse Works employs 43 skilled workers at its business center in south Orlando.

Digital Workers will allow employees to perform end-to-end tasks faster and more effectively. Novatio Solutions anticipates that these solutions will deliver a workforce that is four to six times faster and three times more efficient resulting in cost savings of nearly 65 percent.

“The hype around AI is huge but many businesses haven’t begun to implement it. Lighthouse Works is ahead of the curve by recognizing that the first step to transforming a business with AI is by embracing Digital Workers. Automating some of its business processes will deliver immediate tangible results and help them to grow. We’re excited for this collaboration and the journey we will take together,” said Gokul Solai MD, co-founder and CEO of Novatio Solutions.

“Our Technology Services team is always looking for innovative ways to solve the most complex accessibility challenges in the world today,” said Kaleb Stunkard, vice president and COO of Lighthouse Works. “Through our collaboration with Novatio Solutions, we’re using a plethora of technologies including process automation, computer vision and artificial intelligence to allow individuals who are blind or visually impaired to perform work as efficiently and effectively as individuals who are sighted.”

The collaboration will make day-to-day business operations run more efficiently and will meet an incredible need in the community. The National Federation of the Blind reports that over seven million individuals in the U.S. of working age (16+) have a visual disability. The Department of Labor estimates that many of these individuals are unemployed. According to Prevent Blindness America, the number of Florida residents with impaired vision, including blindness could more than double over the next three decades. This collaboration will provide greater employment opportunities for those with vision loss.

For Lighthouse, current technology solutions did not provide employees with the ability to complete end-to-end tasks and typical accessibility software such as JAWS (Job Access with Speech) was expensive. Lighthouse resorted to custom code and often security restrictions further hindered the ability to use some crucial accessibility tools.

Working together, Novatio Solutions and Lighthouse Works have created a solution where visually impaired agents present data to the Digital Workforce in a usable format. Agents are now able to complete tasks such as help desk support, scheduling, billing and claims processing.

Lighthouse Works operates as a subsidiary of Lighthouse Central Florida. Its mission is “Empowerment through Employment!”