Artificial intelligence has already become a key part of our lives. It plays a role in every aspect, from our phones to our cars to our shopping habits. Yet, the potential of this still emerging technology has still yet to be fully tapped. For Fran Killoway, technology should be used to make the world a better place, by helping those who need it most. We take a look at her firm, Frasil, as it is named Most Innovative AI-Based Browser Software Solution – 2020 in Corporate Vision’s Corporate Excellence Awards.

What is it like to create something truly unique? It takes imagination, and a lot of work. As founder and executive chairman of Frasil, Fran Killoway was blessed with both. Her passion for the creation, development and delivery of technological solutions has guided her to impressive success, with Frasil being the next step on her twenty-year journey of success.

The firm came about because of someone very close to Fran’s heart. A close friend was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease and left unable to speak. Fran’s passion for making a difference, and skill with the latest technologies, inspired her to create something totally different. Hers would be a product that would assist those with disabilities to effectively communicate their needs and feelings.

At the heart of this process was AI, and the way in which it could be adapted to become an intuitive communication tool. Since 2010, Fran has been committed to this vision of allowing PLWD to interact more easily with the world around them. The nature of what eventually became known as Frasil meant that there was no precedent for her work, or any competition. It’s a true innovation, the first of its kind anywhere.

The technological innovation that has gone into Frasil is genuinely breath-taking, with the potential to change hundreds of thousands of lives around the world. Available for use on all Android and iOS devices, it’s easily accessible and open to all. What Fran did was introduce neural network technology into Frasil, using the science and mathematics behind quantum mechanics, physics, and calculus to produce an electronic vocal recognition software that could personalise individual vocal grunts and sounds. These sounds could be transformed into a comprehensible voice that could not only be heard, but understood and trusted.

It’s impossible to overstate the impact that Frasil could have on society as a whole. It has quickly become the market leader in the disability sector, retaining its cutting edge because it does something totally difference. In fact, it’s due to her backwards and upside-down way of building Frasil’s Neural Network, Artificial Intelligence, and Machine Learning that will ensure the longevity of the project. Many simple don’t accept that those with disabilities often have different wants and needs that need to be delivered on a low-cost platform, and this is precisely the service that Frasil offers.

To encourage the growth of this software, the Frasil team has started working closely with Special Needs schools. Fran’s work has taken her across the world from America to Australia, and it’s in Australia that she has found a receptive audience for her creation. The team have taken the time to truly develop the problem, in the wild, working alongside these schools and their pupils to advance the product. The result will be a new, young generation that is equipped to communicate independently and effectively.

When it came to creating a team that could progress Frasil from a dream into commercial reality, Fran knew that it was best to keep it small and focused, with strong and successful individuals guiding the important stages of development. Her position was of leader, making a uniquely collaborative organisation that would take account of every team member. Each brings their own skillset that delivers results of the highest standard. Following Fran’s goals, the team develops a strategy, and ensures that the strategy can be executed effectively.

Creative thinking is a key tenant of Frasil’s operations, combined with the collaborative power of teamwork. It’s vital that people can be heard and encouraged no matter what their position because everyone has something to offer. While Fran has brought the team together, she knows that individuals with different experiences and knowledge to bring to the table can transform how a problem is perceived. Leadership is for guidance and advice but cannot provide solutions for the unknown territory that the firm has chosen to explore.

In many ways, this approach underlines the firm, and makes it unique in its offering, is the organisational and cultural DNA that has been established at this point. It’s not a matter of top-down management, but collective leadership. The way in which team members interact reflects the way in which Frasil has been designed specifically to ensure that its users, PLWD, are heard and respected.

Working in this new and innovative area has brought its own problems for the firm. Many people do not know the potential of AI and neural networks, and many of those who do understand it struggle to accept that a woman of Fran’s age could know how they work, and how they can be threaded into new and exciting formulations. This disbelief stretched to the point where they did not think that Frasil could be developed, yet it exists today and is an exciting success. The success of the firm is due, in no small part, to her vision of technology not just as an end in itself, but as a tool that could make life easier for people. It’s a credit to her that she was able to create a unique way of working that has helped so many.

Frasil has been a major success, with Fran not just leading a team that can thrive, but will be leading a charge for the disability community. It is not, however, her only project. As mentioned before, Frasil is another stop on her journey of success, and the next release is also for Android and iOS devices and called meka. meka is designed to tackle another issue facing today’s society, namely the matter of online child protection on popular social media sites.

Intuitive in every way, meka will respect a user’s privacy while ensuring their safety online at all hours. Real-time alerts will be sent to children and to their patients when an online threat is present. The use of artificial means that meka will be able to determine the precise level of the threat and take appropriate action to avoid any harm from this potential situation.

Technology holds so much potential for good and for ill. When Fran Killoway first thought of the potential of artificial technology, she knew how to make a difference to those who needed it most, to those who’s lives could be transformed by it. It’s a line of thinking that has guided her career and led her to such enviable success with her many enterprises to date.

For further information, please contact Fran Killoway at www.frasil.com