Renuka E,
Section Officer,
ICT Centre for Visually Challlenged,
CHMK Library,
University ofCalicut,
Malappuram Dist.,
Kerala.
----- Original Message -----
From: "bob" <[email protected]>
To: "Keralavision" <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, February 06, 2011 1:26 PM
Subject: (Keralavision) New, cheaper gadgets for the visually impaired
New Delhi, Feb 6, (PTI):
Even as technology has made it possible for the blind to use the
internet, to click photos using special cameras and to undertake
activities that are effortless
for the sighted, innovators are now seeking to aid them further with
new and cheaper gadgets.
Currently, the visually impaired are able to read and browse through
various web pages on the internet one line at a time. Paul D Souza, a
Karnataka-based
engineer has created a multiline refreshable display that gives a
visually impaired person instant access to the computer revolution.
"My device is like a monitor for the blind where they can read by
feeling the Braille dots on its surface. The dots created by raising
or lowering small
pins simulate the bumps of an embossed page and the text changes as
the online page refreshes itself," Souza told PTI.
He says such devices are currently being used in countries in the West
but at costs that are very prohibitive in India. "Technology has not
changed for
the last 30 years. People continue to use the single-line display
device which costs as much as USD 3,000. I have tried to create a five
line – 20 characters
per line – display at a cost of USD 500. It's also the first device
in 14 years to meet NLS Braille specifications," he says.
The engineer, who is a college dropout, aims to bring down the price
further to USD 200 which is much cheaper than the existing models.
While over 15 million
people in India fall into the category of the visually impaired, Souza
says he wants to promote literacy among the blind. "While there are
many say that
Braille is unnecessary when there are computers which can read out
text aloud, I think it will make these people illiterate."
Souza is a finalist shortlisted for the Third Social Innovation
honours given by the Nasscom Foundation. The honours are a bid to
recognise innovation
in the use of information and communication technology for social
development.
Like Souza, two undergraduate students from Meerut have developed a
"blind helper" - a 7 key keyboard to help the visually challenged
operate not only
a computer but also other electrical appliances in their house using
"smart-home extension cables".
"It is difficult for a blind person to operate a normal keyboard with
104 keys. Blind-helper is a Braille free technology that operates with
the help of
e-vision software using dot net technology," says Mohit Khanna, who
has teamed up with a fellow student at the Bharat Institute of
Technology.
The device has 5 navigation keys and the remaining two keys are a
substitute for the escape and enter keys in a normal keyboard, he
says. "As the system
does not require Braille, so even a Braille Illiterate blind person
can also use it. Also, the same system with some minor modifications
can become useful
even for paralytic people, or those with Parkinson’s and even
Alzheimer's diseases," says Khanna.
Another student team from the VES Institute of Technology in Mumbai
has designed the project "Explore", which aims to enable the
differently abled to educate
themselves and discover the virtual world of the computer.
"Our solution helps visually impaired to educate themselves through
talking textbooks, connect to social networking sites like Facebook
etc and thus collaborate
with the world. The software assimilates Braille keys on the keyboard
and output is provided through speech thereby reducing the need for
costly hardware,"
says Samiran Saha, who is leading the student team.
Saha says his team's innovation will be useful for government
organisations to demographically track the literacy level of the
differently abled as well
as assist NGOs and child welfare organisations to suitably channelise
their activities and collaborate.
Khanna and Saha figure in the 21 finalists from across India who have
been shortlisted for the Genpact Nasscom Social innovation awards.
Apart from individuals,
several organistions that have created solutions to aid the visually
impaired have also been shortlisted for the award which will be
announced on February
8.
Mumbai-based Beyond Sight foundation has created a unique project that
enables blind people to click pictures. It conducts workshops that
encourages the
blind to use their senses of hearing touch , various visual memories,
the warmth of light to create a mental image before they take a
picture.
The Camera Mouse project from Vision Aid offers a small camera-based
device that helps people suffering from long- sightedness to read and
write. The camera
magnifies the script and displays the magnified view on the user's
television.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"If you ask me for anything in my name, I will do it. : John 14 :
14"Bible
With regards
Bob
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Get numbers right this time, help the census with correct disability info!
