Help for the visually impaired
Three students at Chulalongkorn University have succeeded in developing a Web browser for the visually impaired that will allow them to access information over the Internet.
The students are Jirasak Chirathivat, Chanin Chanma and Juthasit Meakvongtrakarn from the university's Faculty of Engineering. Jirasak said Web Browser for the Blind would allow users to access the Internet by voice control. "They just have to speak to the computer and the software will help them navigate the website they want without using a computer mouse or keyboard," he added. At present, the software offers 80-per-cent accuracy. Juthasit said when users pronounce a word, the software - which comes with a speech-recognition application - would change voice into text to search for information, and when the computer has the information, it converts this text into speech through text-to-speech software. "So instead of reading, they just listen to what the computer tells them," said Juthasit. The project is part of the National Electronics and Computer Technology Centre's software contest programme, which aims to encourage local students to develop new technology.
Jirapan Boonnoon
The Nation
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