In a move that could help visually-challenged persons in customising Android-operated Tablets, DAISY Forum of India (Digital Accessible Information System) along with Delhi-based NGO Saksham and Connexus Systems, Noida, have a developed a Tablet with applications meant for such users.

Charudatta Jadhav, 45, chairman of the technology committee of DAISY Forum of India says, "Our aim is to ensure that companies selling Tablets in future are equipped with applications so that visually-challenged persons do not have to customise the product later at an additional cost."

AHMEDABAD: While braille helps blind people read, educators have been unendingly tested by the challenge to make their students visualize the concepts they are learning. A toy that a postgraduate student of the National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad, has collaborated in developing may well turn out to be the "holy braille" of education for blind people, helping them feel the world around them.

For the visually impaired, the supermarket can be a daunting place to visit.

Buying groceries is not an easy task when you have trouble seeing.

But for people like Liat Negris, life is about to become a lot easier. By wearing the OrCam, Negrin can point to what she wants to read and the device will do it for her.

She said: “It gives me independence, you know, I can do anything by myself. I don’t need favours, I don’t need to be escorted anywhere, I can go to new places without memorising again and again the way”.

Android, more than any other mobile operating system, should be the defacto standard for anyone with certain types of visual impediments.

Not only can you choose from multiple devices (with different screen sizes), you can do simple modifications like change the launcher, easily automate routine tasks, use many different types of voice assistants, voice commands and voice-activated apps.

Here is a list of all the apps, accessories and devices that make it ideal for people with disabilities.

Eight interns from Carnegie Mellon are currently in Bangalore to research and develop new learning modes for their Braille Writing Tutor, which include local languages.

Much of the technology today lacks what is actually necessary for the user, says Shree Lakshmi Rao, a recent graduate from Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), US, who is in Bangalore as part of an eight-member team working with Mathru School for the Blind. They are here to evaluate the effectiveness of a new electronic Braille writing device, called Braille Writing Tutor.