Digital India and Accessible India are amongst the flagship campaigns of the present Government. The prime objective of this campaign is to make all Government services accessible to every citizen. It can’t be said that technology has the potential to develop the arch between normal & specially-abled people, until and unless these initiatives remain in accessible for the disabled citizens. Some unfortunate accidents and genetic issues can lead people to live unfortunate lives but a new technology invention has opened- up the doors of success.
Government colleges are taking various initiatives for disabled students and empowering them with Technology so that they can lead the independent life. The college management has gone the extra mile in facilitating their visually impaired students to independently navigate through the campus.
Visually impaired and blind college students can move easily and independently using an application on their smartphones that scans QR codes placed strategically in various locations. After downloading the app on their phone, they can scan the QR code and the app sends out a verbal message with location details. An audio directional message spells out clearly for the blind student their current location and the way around it.
As said by third year College student Gulshan Naz who has partial vision explains, “the several visually impaired students take the help of the newly installed QR code acrylic sheets to not only find their way inside the campus but also to locate shortcuts for heading out of the college.”
Students express, “Right now these talking signals are limited to the college campus but we hope similar solutions can be placed in other spaces visited by students, like the Delhi Metro.”
Several other colleges in India have their independent supporting units and the Delhi University itself has an Equal Opportunity Cell that provides facility to students with disabilities. For example, initiatives like these can be replicated by these units across the DU campus, making the entire University accessible to the blind students.
Technology can make life easier and stress-free for a specially-abled person. It will reflect the success of the countries digitalization if a specially-abled person enjoys their life without others helps.
New Direction to Life with Technology
