India Developing World's First Smartphone For The Blind | TechTree.com

India Developing World's First Smartphone For The Blind

A prototype of the smartphone is currently under testing in Hyderabad.

 

India, which has given the world many technological innovations, and is home to the best of technical brains, is at it again. After giving the world the mathematical "0", and producing scientists like Sir CV Raman, the country is now developing the world's first smartphone for the visually impaired. According to a Times Of India report, Sumit Dagar, a post-graduate from the National Institute of Design, is the brain behind this initiative. The prototype of this device is currently being developed in collaboration with IIT Delhi.

"This product is based on an innovative 'touch screen' which is capable of elevating and depressing the contents it receives to transform them into 'touchable' patterns", Dagar told the Times Of India. The device which is now in its test phase, would enable the visually impaired to read messages, emails, work with graphics, and images apart from providing all the features of a "conventional" smartphone. The display of this smartphone also provides for elevation/depression of the contents displayed on the screen, making Braille patterns available to the user. This is done by certain "pins" that transform into Braille characters and alphabets.

Another notable factor of this handset would be its Shape Memory Alloy technology. A shape memory alloy (SMA, also known as a smart alloy, memory metal, or muscle wire) is an metallic mixture that "remembers" its shape. After a sample of SMA has been deformed from its original crystallographic configuration, it regains its original geometry by itself during heating (one-way effect) or, at higher ambient temperatures, simply during unloading (pseudo-elasticity or superelasticity).

"The response during the test has been immense. It comes out as a companion more than a phone to the user. We plan to do more advanced versions of the phone in the future," states Dagar. As of now, the other technical aspects and pricing details of this smartphone are not yet available. However, the usefulness of this device would get a peak, if the pricing is kept below the Rs 10K mark.

Also Read: 9 Year Old Indian Origin Boy Is Youngest Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist


TAGS: smartphones, technology

 
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