V-VISI to help the blind with computers

NST: The blind community will be able to interact with computers by voice command, once a home-grown voice recognition software system is ready commercially.
The system known as V-VISI (Voice Recognition System for visual impaired learners) enables the blind to instruct computers to fetch and send their email, scroll web pages, print documents in braille from text format and surf for worldwide news and information.
It also enables the computer to talk back to users to confirm instructions and repeat type-written words.
V-VISI earned Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia one of the 12 gold medals at the recent public higher learning institutions (IPTA) exhibition.
It was created by UKM’s Faculty of Information Science and Technology comprising its deputy dean of development affairs Professor Datin Dr Halimah Badioze Zaman and students David Kennedy, Aidanismah Yahya and Choo Wou Onn.
Halimah said the blind community can use computers without any assistance with V-VISI.
"It will give the blind a sense of independence and an appreciation of technology, which is hard for them to grasp because specially-made software for the blind is expensive and not easily available," she said today, after a media briefing to highlight UKM’s achievement at IPTA.
She said V-VISI was tested on some members of the Malaysian Association of the Blind prior to the IPTA’s exhibition.
Until now, MAB has been using foreign-based computer software systems specially developed for the blind.
As a non-profit organisation, MAB is unable to allocate much funds for computers, software and maintenance, at its training centre in Brickfields, hence its struggle to keep up with the latest technology trends.
UKM will set up a council to discuss plans to patent, market and commercial V-VISI soon.