What is sensei?
🎤 Watch Kavya’s Final Pitch at the Design Museum Entrepreneurs Hub!
This is the story of how Sensei began, why it matters, and where it’s headed.
In this pitch, Sensei's founder, Kavya, shares her journey from a university project to an innovative tactile wayfinding system that is transforming accessibility in schools, workplaces, and public spaces.
🔹 Who Am I? (The Backstory)
👋 "I’m Kavya, a product designer, an empath, and someone deeply connected to the problem I’m solving."
- Originally from India, studied Product Design at Nottingham Trent University
- Personal experiences shaped my understanding of accessibility
- Spent time with visually impaired individuals, including my own father, who developed vision loss due to diabetic retinopathy
- Realized that traditional spaces are not designed for visually impaired & neurodivergent individuals.
🔹 The Problem We’re Solving
🏢 "Buildings are designed for sighted individuals. But what happens when vision isn’t your primary way of navigating the world?"
🚨 The challenge:
- Most public spaces are not accessible for visually impaired individuals.
- Traditional solutions are expensive, technology-heavy, and difficult to implement.
- Schools, hospitals, care homes, and businesses struggle to meet accessibility standards in a meaningful way.
🔍 The key insight:
- Touch is an underutilized sense in navigation.
- Tactile wayfinding can empower individuals to move independently.
- We needed a simple, cost-effective, and non-intrusive solution
🔹 The Solution: Sensei
🛠 "Sensei turns walls into navigation tools—through touch."
🚀 How it works:
- Tactile wayfinding markers guide individuals through indoor spaces.
- Easy to install—no wiring, no technology, no costly renovations.
- Customizable for different environments—schools, hospitals, workplaces, and more.
💡 Why it’s different:
- Unlike digital solutions, Sensei is low-tech, intuitive, and always accessible.
- Schools and businesses can easily comply with accessibility laws without huge costs.
- Designed with and for visually impaired and neurodivergent individuals.
🔹 The Market & Opportunity
📈 "Sensei is not just a product—it’s a shift in how we think about accessibility."
🎯 Target industries:
🏫 Schools & Universities → Making education spaces inclusive
🏥 Hospitals & Care Homes → Supporting independent navigation in healthcare
🏢 Workplaces & Public Spaces → Helping organizations meet accessibility compliance
📊 The numbers:
- Over 2 million people in the UK are visually impaired.
- Hundreds of thousands of neurodivergent individuals struggle with traditional navigation.
- Businesses & schools are actively looking for affordable accessibility solutions.
🔹 Traction & Impact
🔥 "From a university project to real-world impact."
✅ Featured in the Design Museum Entrepreneurs Hub as an innovative accessibility startup.
✅ Installed at Welcombe Hills School—helping students navigate their environment independently.
✅ Signed a contract with MAT Unity (Multi-Academy Trust) to implement Sensei in 3 schools.
✅ Secured £140,000 in Innovate UK funding to scale our impact.
✅ Selling pilot kits & expanding into new sectors.
💬 "The best part? Seeing students gain confidence as they navigate their schools independently for the first time."
🔹 What’s Next for Sensei?
🚀 Scaling the pilot project to 10+ schools across the UK.
🏢 Expanding into workplaces, transport hubs, and corporate spaces.
🌍 Bringing Sensei to international markets.
🛠 Exploring new accessibility innovations beyond wayfinding.
✨ This is just the beginning. Sensei is redefining how we experience space, making navigation inclusive, intuitive, and accessible to all.