The vOICe that helps the visually-handicapped 'see'

SANGHAMITRA CHAKRABORTY

NEW DELHI: Pranav Lal is a tech-savvy 23-year-old. His laptop is his life. Nothing extraordinary about that. Except that the Acer machine with its attached web-cam has opened up a magic window for him. Pranav is blind. His is a case study of how technology can change life.

A piece of software called the "vOICe" using the seeing with sound technology is helping him do just that. "Last week, I began to learn the shapes of the letters of the English alphabet with it; Braille was just dots," he grins. Lal, an MBA, teaches English grammar and vocabulary. He also handles the ERP at Career Launcher, an education corporate based in the Capital. So far, screen access software has been reading out everything his mouse or notebook key touches. The "vOICe" software has allowed him to perceive shapes, textures and dimensions for the first time.

 
Pranav has created a gear for himself where a web-cam is strapped on to his head with an ordinary cap, under which he wears headphones. He carries his laptop with him, as he walks about or travels in his car. Pictures taken by the web-cam get converted into sound waves, which he hears through his headphones. The brain processes the sounds and the corresponding image helps him figure out the object facing the web-cam.
Pranav exchanges e-mail and software, 'reads' news on the Internet and science fiction and film scripts that have been scanned into his laptop. At Career Launcher he does everything from writing content for the website to discussing strategy with the CEO.
At night he dreams of flying a shuttle into space to colonise a new planet. "But my fear is that in case of a mishap, the colonists would have to adopt a low technology culture and I would have no role there without my laptop. Where would I go?" he asks.
"I am a virtual cyborg — even if I have to call for a pizza, the number is on my machine," he adds. His worst fear is being cut off from his machine. "I dread a war will break down power and communic

However, Pranav's mom, who discovered his blindness when he was three months, says her son is very positive. "We were driving down an avenue from Dubai to Muscat and I told Pranav I wished he could see the beautiful scenery, and he replied, 'At least I can think ation lines.","' she recalls.

The software is available free off the Internet at http://www.seeingwithsound.com

Source:TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Date: December 15, 2004.