See and smile

The Braille Phone Project While technology has accelerated growth and awareness across Indiarsquos population a section of society has yet to benefit fully from technological developments sweeping the country mdash the visually impaired Delhibased interaction designer Sumit Dagar realised this void and decided to work for a change The result mdash the Braille Phone Project A model of the smart phone that is being created for the visually impaired by Sumit Dagar and his team under the Braille Phone Project Pics Courtesy Sumit Dagar ldquoI come from an engineering background and Irsquom also an interaction designer so my field of expertise is applied technology In 2009 while working on a project for my Masterrsquos degree I stumbled upon the reality that there is a huge gap between what is available for all and what is available for the visually impaired population I realised that while technology is empowering most of us it provides hurdles for the visually impairedrdquo recalls Dagar The 29yearold designed and launched a phone which will be handy for people with vision loss The concept phonersquos primary medium of communication is a haptic sense of touch touch screen that allows users to feel the information on the screen Using height mapping the device will be able to project information ranging from textual Braille images and animations and videos ldquoThe Braille smart phone is a nextgeneration product The prototype version will be launched in a month while the final product will hit market in a yearrsquos timerdquo informs Dagar who plans to price the phone at R8000 For its release the designer intends to reach out to mobile operators to acquaint them with the phone Dagar is working on the project under his company Kriyate and has an inhouse team of five This apart his collaborators include IIT Delhi and LV Prasad Eye Institute Hyderabadu00a0 Tactile tours at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya As part of its universal accessibility initiative Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya CSMVS has made its current exhibition Mummy The Inside Story available to all groups with the visually impaired being a key focus area The Education Department at the museum has designed special tactile tours for the visually impaired using replicas which they can touch and feel while being led on a guided tour of the exhibition ldquoTactile tour is a specially designed programme for the visually impaired It involves a tour of the exhibition in a multisensory approach The tour at the exhibition will use tactile replicas audio descriptions and Braille texts These help to tell the narrative of the exhibition in a simple and interesting format and make it easy for people with visual impairments to perceive the exhibitionrdquo informs Bilwa Kulkarni Education Officer CSMVS Kulkarni also informed that apart from the guided tour the programme also involves a small activity usually craftbased for children after the tour of the exhibition ldquoThis helps them engage with the exhibition in a more enriching manner There are also games with 3D hieroglyphs cardsrdquo she added The museum sought expertise from visually impaired educators and special education teachers to make this a more fulfilling experience It also plans to print Braille booklets as giveaways ldquoWe have reached out to various visually impaired schools across Mumbai and some have responded enthusiastically for the programme Wersquove received favourable feedback from groups as they have enjoyed themselves thoroughlyrdquo shares Kulkarni u00a0Currently the museum has associated with the Helen Keller School and The Happy Home and School for the Blind to offer them this experience At CSMVS 159161 MG Road Fort Call 22844484 Note Entry to the exhibition is free for groups with special needs Wednesdays are reserved specially for special needs groups and programmes are arranged for them exclusively No other bookings are taken on these daysu00a0