A group of students from the University of Natural Sciences in Ho Chi Minh City has come up with an idea to develop a program that assists visually impaired individuals in drafting documents on a computer.
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| Dang Bac Van (right) at the Vietnam Creativity Day 2006 contest. Photo: M.T. |
The project is participating in the “Vietnam Creativity Day 2006” event currently taking place in Hanoi.
Mr. Dang Bac Van, the team leader, stated that the software named MATABraille was created to meet the essential computing needs of individuals with visual impairments.
Current solutions, such as the NDC software from the Scitec Center, have somewhat aided the visually impaired in harnessing the power of computers. However, since the software is developed independently, users still need to draft documents in another program and then paste them into the application to utilize the support features. Additionally, this program does not support multiple languages, lacks mathematical and scientific formulas, and is not flexible in expanding its database.
The MATABraille software developed by the team will enable visually impaired users to work within a single program. The system is integrated into Microsoft Word, leveraging the existing capabilities of this application to transform Microsoft Word into a writing tool for the visually impaired.
The program can recognize and vocalize multiple languages, including Vietnamese and English. Users can adjust the reading speed, reading style, and spelling check. The software also provides a function to convert between standard text and Braille, supporting printing with Braille printers.
Moreover, the program allows for database expansion and the integration of special symbols such as chemical and mathematical signs. Users can access a dictionary and practice typing within this application.
Participating in the “Vietnam Creativity Day 2006” contest, Van’s team hopes to secure funding to finalize the program and initiate trial runs. The team anticipates that the MATABraille toolkit will be launched next year.
Anh Thi
