Apr 01
Introduction
INTRODUCTION
Changing the way the Visually Impaired Person ( V I ) goes about their life significantly. Braille materials (books, labels etc…) to be complemented by electronic labels.
Visually Impaired persons (V I ) today have many choices of assistive devices that are designed to help the V I in going about their daily life as independently as possible. From talking clock, talking thermometer, talking calculator to sophisticated computer screen reader, these are just some examples. They all have one feature in common – since VI cannot use their visual ability to the full, they rely heavily on their other senses. In this case the hearing ability. But in the area of identification and differentiation (I & D), there is a lack of new assistive devices to help the V I to identify and differentiate items around them.
Most commonly used today is the good old Braille labels, or relying on a sighted person. This situation has not changed or improved much for as long as the Braille has been invented. But with the rapidly and constantly changing environment, the need for V I to access information as much as possible on their own and to reduce dependency, has become the wish of every V I. The biggest challenge for visually impaired person is trying to access information.
Today, V I still depends on the proven but increasingly inefficient Braille for most of their needs in “reading” requirements. Whether it is in education or in identifying objects, oversized Braille books and labels are used. The making of these Braille materials and labels are also tedious, time consuming and relatively costly and requires the V I to understand Braille before it can be used.
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Some Facts
- It is estimated by WHO that there are 40 millions blind people in the world
- Another additional of about 100 millions are partially sighted
- An average of max 20% of the blind people in any V I community has Braille literacy.