That's an inspiring story indeed! A visually impaired securing investment from big name like Sequioa and running a successful startup in tech.
I think the article would just need a slight correction, IT-BHU was conferred IIT status in 2012 to what I know and was not one when the honorary would have studied there. On Fri, 4 Dec 2020 at 18:50, pranaya rani <[email protected]> wrote: > This IITian lost vision 8 years ago, he now develops ‘voice app’ that > helps visually impaired use popular apps | Technology News,The Indian > Express > > > > https://indianexpress.com/article/technology/tech-news-technology/this-iitian-lost-vision-develops-voice-app-that-helps-visually-impaired-use-popular-apps-7083982/?utm_source=newzmate&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=technology&tqid=1vC6MmM6E0MBglWplU1nVx.jC9he477xQVHH3wBuQQ > > This IITian lost vision 8 years ago, he now develops ‘voice app’ that > helps visually impaired use popular apps International Day of Disabled > Persons 2020: Pramit Bhargava, an alumnus of IIT-BHU and IIM-B, is behind > the Louie app that enables visually impaired users to use popular apps with > just voice commands. > Anuj Bhatia <https://indianexpress.com/profile/author/anuj-bhatia/> > [image: Louie Voice Control, Louie app Android, Pramit Bhargava, apps for > visually impaired and blind, International Day of Disabled Persons 2020, > startups in India] > > A drug reaction 20 years ago affected the retina of Pramit Bhargava, an > alumnus of IIT-BHU and IIM-B. Since then, he slowly started losing his > vision, and by 2012, it had dropped to a point when he could not read > anything. Losing his vision had impacted Bhargava, both mentally and > physiologically. Low on confidence, the 53-year-old even started > questioning himself. > > “I was becoming so dependent on people because of the lack of technology. > Even though I’m a good user of technology, I realised that the only thing > available for the visually impaired was a basic screen reader that was > fairly basic, and was difficult to use,” he told* indianexpress.com > <https://indianexpress.com>* in an interview. > > Four years ago, Bhargava, who has worked with Hindustan Unilever and > Motorola <https://indianexpress.com/about/motorola/>, got the idea of > developing an app that shows the way as to how tech can become more > accessible to people with disabilities. While seeking help from a sighted > friend to book a cab, Bhargava wondered if he could create a mobile app > that allows visually impaired users to use popular apps with just voice > commands. > > “Louie, in a way, is all about solving my own problem, and with the hope > that it will work for other people as well,” said Bhargava, the creator of > ‘Louie Voice Control’. > The rise of assistive tech: How tech is helping people with special needs > <https://indianexpress.com/article/technology/tech-news-technology/the-rise-of-assistive-devices-how-tech-is-helping-people-with-special-needs-7062129/> > > Bhargava visualised a mobile app that could be a ‘virtual friend’, doing > interactions like humans – something he himself wished existed for booking > a cab or sending a WhatsApp message. While the idea of a mobile that lets > blind and visually impaired use commonly used apps and controls the phone > with voice commands had a potential, Bhargava initially struggled to get > developers on board. But once he secured funding from Sequoia Capital, > Bhargava recruited his own developers and started working on the app. His > team now consists of 14 people, including three visually impaired > developers who are in the area of testing as well as user experience. > [image: Louie Voice Control, Louie app Android, Pramit Bhargava, apps for > visually impaired and blind, International Day of Disabled Persons 2020, > startups in India]<img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-7083358 > size-full" src="https://images.indianexpress.com/2020/12/IMG_8479.jpg"; > alt="Louie Voice Control, Louie app Android, Pramit Bhargava, apps for > visually impaired and blind, International Day of Disabled Persons 2020, > startups in India" srcset=" > https://images.indianexpress.com/2020/12/IMG_8479.jpg 759w, > https://images.indianexpress.com/2020/12/IMG_8479.jpg?resize=450,205 > 450w, https://images.indianexpress.com/2020/12/IMG_8479.jpg?resize=600,274 > 600w, https://images.indianexpress.com/2020/12/IMG_8479.jpg?resize=728,332 > 728w" sizes="(max-width: 759px) 100vw, 759px" /> Bhargava has worked > with the FMCG giant Hindustan Unilever in the past. (Image credit: Anuj > Bhatia/Indian Express) > > Bhargava says the mobile app, ‘Louie Voice Control’, is a part of the > larger effort to make tech products and services accessible for the people > with disabilities and special needs. With smartphones becoming more > accessible than ever, it becomes natural to design solutions that benefit a > larger section of the society, including blind and visually impaired > people. The app’s name Louie was derived from Louis Braille, inventor of > the Braille, a system that enables blind and visually impaired people to > read and write through touch. > > “Whichever app we support, whatever phone functionality we support, we got > to make Louie so good that just like a sighted person, a visually impaired > person should also be able to do each and everything within that app with > just voice commands,” he says. > > Louie is designed to be an accessibility app and the voice functionality > is an integral part of the solution. “It’s a very complex technology, and > no other app in the world is actually using it the way we are,” he said. > But how do you differentiate between your solution vs Google > <https://indianexpress.com/about/google/> Assistant, Alexa or Siri? > Apple updates accessibility website to make users aware of new capabilities > <https://indianexpress.com/article/technology/tech-news-technology/apple-updates-accessibility-website-to-make-users-aware-of-new-capabilities-7083580/> > > “The difference in approach is that if you take the voice assistants, be > it Google Assistant, Siri or Alexa, they are meant for the sighted masses,” > he explains. Citing the example of Uber, Bhargava said none of these voice > assistants can actually do a complete booking. “What Louie does is that it > will ask you for the destination, it will tell you the rides and the order > of increasing prices and then it will confirm pick up. Even post booking, > you can call the driver and cancel your ride. They do superficial support > for each app, what we do is we do complete 100 per cent support within an > app that we voice-enable,” he said. For Bhargava, the blind and visually > impaired is the use case for Louie and that itself differentiates the app > from Google Assistant or Alexa. > > Bhargava says the core technology used to develop the Louie app is > developed in-house. However, there are many supporting technologies that > are used to make the app come from Google. For example, the Louie app uses > Google’s speech to text conversion, which is where a lot of artificial > intelligence comes into play. “With Louie, you can set up any voice engine > and voice that you want. We don’t have a voice of our own,” he said. > [image: Louie Voice Control, Louie app Android, Pramit Bhargava, apps for > visually impaired and blind, International Day of Disabled Persons 2020, > startups in India]<img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-7083355 > size-full" src="https://images.indianexpress.com/2020/12/louie.jpg"; > alt="Louie Voice Control, Louie app Android, Pramit Bhargava, apps for > visually impaired and blind, International Day of Disabled Persons 2020, > startups in India" srcset=" > https://images.indianexpress.com/2020/12/louie.jpg 759w, > https://images.indianexpress.com/2020/12/louie.jpg?resize=450,438 450w, > https://images.indianexpress.com/2020/12/louie.jpg?resize=600,583 600w, > https://images.indianexpress.com/2020/12/louie.jpg?resize=417,405 417w" > sizes="(max-width: 759px) 100vw, 759px" /> The Louie app is designed for > blind, visually impaired people, and elderly. The app works with Uber, > WhatsApp, YouTube, among other apps. > > Bhargava says the app, which is currently available on Android > <https://indianexpress.com/about/android/>, has a user base in 70 > countries and there is a WhatsApp group that is being used to get the > feedback from users. “Practically 99% of the users that we have are all > visually impaired.” > > Big tech companies like Apple <https://indianexpress.com/about/apple/>, > Google and Microsoft <https://indianexpress.com/about/microsoft/> have > been making their products more accessible for the disabled. With iOS > <https://indianexpress.com/about/ios/>, Apple has added features designed > to make its devices easier to use for people with disabilities. Microsoft > meanwhile offers an Xbox Adaptive Controller specially designed for people > with special needs. Google, too, is not behind in its efforts to make its > services accessible for disabled. It recently added Live Caption, a feature > which transcribes videos and audio on a smartphone in real-time. Efforts > are being made to make products that benefit everyone, but the > accessibility tech is still in progress. > > “One of the reasons why this app is so complex for us is that there is no > one standard Android and unlike iOS where accessibility features are baked > in, here there are various versions of Android, particularly the Chinese > phones, where different phones have got different versions of Android. > Because accessibility is like an afterthought, it’s not baked in so you can > make an app which will be completely inaccessible,” he said. > > Accessibility tech has a lot of potential to grow in India, according to > Bhargava. “The core solution has to be technology, and even the > dissemination of these solutions through technology.” > > Right now, the Louie app is in beta stage and can be downloaded for free > from the Google Play Store. But Bhargava is contemplating on how to price > the app in India. “The whole idea is that how do you make it so affordable, > so it could be down to Rs 20 a month, it could be Rs 35 a month, but > certainly not in the range of Rs 350-400 a month in India”. Bhargava is > also thinking of tying up with an organisation, and giving them a free > license. > > *📣 The Indian Express is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel > (@indianexpress) <https://t.me/indianexpress> and stay updated with the > latest headlines* > > For all the latest Technology News > <https://indianexpress.com/section/technology/>, download Indian Express > App. > <https://itunes.apple.com/in/app/india-news-indian-express/id506351833?mt=8> > > © IE Online Media Services Pvt Ltd > > > Sent from my iPhone > > -- > Disclaimer: > 1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking of > the person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its veracity; > > 2. 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