Mumbai youth comes up with cheap software for the blind

Voice-enabled software for the visually impaired to use on a computer and browse the web is nothing new. But a Mumbai-based visually-impaired...

Voice-enabled software for the visually impaired to use on a computer and browse the web is nothing new. But a Mumbai-based visually-impaired software professional has come up with a cheap option, the “open source voice-enabled software” based on LINUX system which promises to open up new vistas for the blind.

Krishna Kant, a Research Fellow of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, during an elaborate demonstration for the Chennai’s visually-impaired students, said the new software which he developed, called ORCA, permits development of free (open source) software. It brings down the costs, as no license was required. He will be training teachers in Tamil Nadu as part of the state-run ELCOT (Electronics Corporation of TN) sponsored project.

He pointed out that IT companies were reluctant to recruit visually impaired people as they had to install proprietary software, the license for which costs a minimum of Rs 70,000 for each computer.

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An excited Kant said: “This is a proof of how independent the visually impaired can get. They can even play games, fool around with graphics, browse the Google and chat on Yahoo.”

C Umashankar, ELCOT’s Managing Director and a strong proponent of the LINUX software, pointed out that a minimum of Rs 5 lakh was required to install proprietary software which can be shared only by five visually impaired people. “Whereas with ORCA, 22 computers could be installed,” he said. The TN government had allotted Rs 30 lakh for the project, which includes training personnel for 10 schools for the visually impaired in Tamil Nadu, he said.

With features similar to the existing Windows-based software, Krishna Kant said the ORCA not only read out whatever there was on the screen but also the functions (like pressing a button) to be applied by the user.

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