The theme of National Science Day this year is Science for the Specially-Abled. A look at how science and technology has risen to the challenge of empowering and enabling people with disabilities
It is called Assistive Technology – technology meant specially for people with disabilities. Ask any person with disability, he/she will point out at least one way in which digital-assistive technology has made life easier for him/her. The most fascinating story on this comes from an NGO in Chennai. Years ago, they say, a company came to them to market a new feature for cellphones. It was called SMS. Their demo of the feature made the director jump in her seat. “Hey, this is just what hearing-impaired people would love to have!” she said. The SMS or short-message-service became a breakthrough technology in helping the hearing-impaired connect with each other.
Over the years, app-makers and engineers have spent time, energy and funds to find answers to questions like, “How can people with visual-impairment read on the PC or on their mobile?”, “How can the hearing-impaired be included in a conversation?”, “How can people who can’t use their arms be helped to eat?” Here is a peep into some of the answers.
Reading without seeing
The Hear2Read Android App (free) converts Tamil/Telugu/Marathi text to speech and enables blind people to read by listening, says Suresh Bazaj, the developer. If plans go well, soon people with visual impairment who understand Kannada, Punjabi and Bengali will have their own language apps on their mobile phones. Sure, “Text-to-Speech” software has been around for English/Hindi text on Google. But the Hear2read app extends this to other Indian languages. It lets a cross-section of people enjoy reading books, news-sites, e-mail, and documents written in their mother tongue. They can enjoy social media (WhatsApp, Twitter, Facebook) postings written in regional Indian languages. In fact, this can be used by sighted people who prefer to listen to a story!
Dot
E-Braille gadgets have been around for a while, but have stayed out of reach of people with disabilities due to their Himalayan cost. So the world’s first Braille smartwatch Dot is a welcome arrival.
Dot is less expensive and allows blind people to “read” messages, tweets and books anywhere, any time. How does it work? The Braille smartwatch carries six dots on four cells on its surface. Once pressed, the dots will fall/rise to form four letters in Braille. Makers say it connects to a smartphone through Bluetooth. Once activated, the dots retrieve the text from email/messaging-app and translate it into Braille.
Talkitt
Talkitt is a boon to those with speech and language disorders. It converts unintelligible speech into understandable words, and the speaker can make himself understood to any listener, anywhere. The app’s biggest USP is, it works in any language. It learns the user’s speech-patterns and creates a speech dictionary for the owner. It then identifies and recognises the unintelligible pronunciation and translates it into speech that everyone can follow.
Sesame phone
Even those with nil vision have learnt to operate a touch-screen-phone, but what if you cannot use your arms at all? The Sesame phone has been devised with such people in mind – it is touch-free and works on small head movements. The Sesame phone’s front-facing camera tracks the head movements (instead of finger movements) and activates the features. You operate the smartphone without touching it. Gestures help to swipe/browse/play/text. It works on voice control as well.
A recent TCS study states that an all-girls team in Chennai has developed a method to help visually-challenged persons navigate obstacles through audio feed of text via headphones. Another group has developed a walker that can alert healthcare professionals about an impending heart attack.
UNI
One problem the hearing-impaired face is inability to converse with those who do not know sign language. UNI, a two-way communication tool based on gesture/speech technology attempts to solve this barrier. UNI employs a special camera algorithm to detect hand and finger gestures and converts it quickly to text (speech as well?) providing meaning to sign language. Its “sign-builder” helps the user create his/her own signs and these can be added to the cellphone dictionary. UNI comes in two versions – one that has a data connection and another that doesn’t.
Be My Eyes
I am sure you will want to be part of this app. This super-cool app has features to connect a blind person to a network of volunteers. A blind person puts in a voice request for help (“Which is the nearest ATM from my hostel?”) and it kicks off a video call. This is transferred to volunteers in the area. The app allows a volunteer to forward the call to another in case he is unable to help.
Assist-Mi
What if a wheelchair-user is stuck in front of steep steps and needs assistance? If he had downloaded assist-Mi, an assistance app, he would simply make a call through it for help. Assist-Mi brings help to disabled people in real time by connecting them to service-providers and caregivers at a moment’s notice. Using it, a wheel-chair user can get help to go to work, visit a hospital. It can guide a blind person across the city for shopping. For those who are speech/hearing impaired the app has a feature called Mi-Profile which tells the caregiver the nature of the person’s disability and what sort of help is needed. The app also has two-way communication and GPS for locating the person in need.
Liftware
Liftware is an answer to those with mobility problems. Liftware is a simple automatic handle to which one can attach a fork or spoon. Think how useful it will be for patients who have no arms and those who cannot use their arms well, as in the case of those with Parkinson’s disease. Liftware stabilizes the shaking of the arms upto 70% so food does not spill from the dish before it reaches the patient’s mouth. Such devices make people with movement disabilities live independently and make cleaning easier. Each Liftware pack has a stabilizing handle, a charger, spoon, fork and soup spoon. Several meals can be had after one charge, and the spoons and fork can be washed. Check out what astrophysicist Stephen Hawking uses for “talking” to people!
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