PUNE: The visually impaired will soon be able to use touchscreen cellphones thanks to an application called Easy Access.
The National Association for the Blind (NAB) is all set to launch the application which will help the visually impaired operate their cellphones through its text-to-speech feature.
"Users can just tap on the cellphone and follow voice instructions in order to navigate," NAB chief executive officer Homiyar Mobedji said. Mobedji was in the city to monitor the progress of the application, which is being developed in all Indian languages by city-based software firm Extentia Information Technology.
The application can be downloaded on Google Play Store. The features of the application have been conceptualized by NAB, he said.
The application consists of swipe gestures, a text-to-speech trigger and voice feedback to facilitate easy navigation. In addition, every number has been assigned a unique vibration to dial and make calls, Mobedji said.
"The geriatric population among the visually impaired will be happy with the application as it will keep them entertained. They can also access newspapers on their cellphones," he said.
If the application gains popularity, several features have been planned as enhancements for future versions.
"We are planning to make available an easily accessible documentation in local languages and also a self-learning audio tutorial for users," said Umeed Kothavala, chief executive officer of Extentia Information Technology.
An NAB official said once the app becomes popular, they will try to provide the option to pre-install it on Android devices as a basic feature.
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