Processing .....please wait.. 
The article has been forwarded.... 
News >> Technology >>
New IT solutions for the disabled
By siliconindia
|
Friday, 14 December 2007, 20:30 IST
New Delhi: IT companies like IBM, Microsoft and Texas Instruments are working out innovative ways to use technology to provide the special needs of disabled people.
IBM added a Human Ability and Accessibility Centre to make technology and information easily accessible for people with visual, cognitive, hearing, and motor disabilities in India.
IBM also launched Easy Web Browsing (for the visually-impaired), WebAdopt2Me (for people with cognitive impairments or low vision), IBM aDesigner (disability simulator), Hindi speech recognition and English assessment tool called Sensei among others.
"The centre will cater to the different needs of government bodies, business houses, academic institutions, research workers and non-government organizations," said Frances West, Director, IBM Human Ability and Accessibility Centre, IBM.
U.S. based Texas Instruments, in collaboration with Ambient Technologies, has developed a prototype for a 'thought-controlled' motorized wheelchair for people who have little or no ability to speak.
This was showcased at the Texas Instruments Developers' Conference India, 2007. The wonder wheelchair is guided by thought and a slight movement of the Adam's apple. When a person intends to communicate, an implanted sensor/larynx control system "reads" the electrical signals that the brain uses to command the larynx to speak.
"Applications such as these demonstrate beyond any doubt that there are increasingly fewer limits to how innovative technology can better the lives of disadvantaged people," said Praveen Ganapathy, Director - Corporate Business Development, Texas Instruments India.
Microsoft is also developing products to cater to this special user base. It recently tied up with the Digital Accessible Information System Consortium in India for a development project that will make it possible for computer users who are blind or print disabled to make better use of assistive technology in their daily lives.
The project will enable the translation of millions of Open XML documents into DAISY XML, the lingua franca for digital talking books. The free downloadable plug-in will be released in early 2008.
Microsoft's Vista is also available with special features designed to provide a superior computing experience for people with special needs.