The ‘big’ world of words & colours
Eighteen-year-old Garima Bhagat, born with just 30%vision has struggled with her studies all life. In the first year of BBI (Bachelor of Banking and Insurance), the toughest challenge Bhagat faces is to read her course material. But thanks to an innovative gadget that magnifies words, showcased recently at Techshare 2008, Bhagat can read without hindrance by simply placing the gadget on the page of the book she wants to read.
Techshare India 2008, an unique exhibition organised by UK-based Royal National Institute of the Blind and BarrierBreak Technologies, at Ali Yavar Jung National Institute for the Hearing Handicapped, showcased several such IT products and services that allowed visitors to browse through the latest in assistive technologies available.
From battery-powered joystick-operated wheel-chairs, custom-made tricycles, disabled-friendly mobile phones, to softwares that enabled the visually impaired to use the computer to websites, designed especially keeping web content accessibility guidelines in mind to PDF files and forms that can be used by persons with any type of disability without being dependent on others, Techshare 2008 had it all.
DNA profiles three of the many state-of-the-art products on display at Techshare 2008.
Travel-plus magnifier
Purpose: Reading
How it works: Simply place it on the page of the book you want to read and move it along the sentence. People with low vision can use it for studies.
Price: Approximately Rs 28,000
Colour identifier
Purpose: Identifies colours
How does it work: It mentions the colour of the item when you place it on the item’s surface, can identify 150 colours and can also tell you whether it is day or night.
Price: Approximately Rs 7, 500