Qualcomm to Assist in Developing Mobile Phones for the Blind

Qualcomm has announced a project with the UK's Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) to develop mobile phones for blind and partially sighted people. A US$100,000 donation has also been made which will support the work of RNIB.

The donation will be used by RNIB to develop a set of production masters for a range of tactile teaching materials for use by blind and partially sighted children in the UK. The tactile teaching materials will include formats such as maps, charts and diagrams and will be designed to meet the needs of children with sight problems who are studying General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) courses in mainstream education systems.

Andrew Gilbert, executive vice president of Qualcomm and president of MediaFLO Technologies, Qualcomm Internet Services and Qualcomm Europe, commented, "RNIB has a celebrated history of using innovative technologies to improve the lives of its members. We are enthusiastic about the opportunity to work with RNIB to further our shared goal of finding new wireless technology applications that positively impact society."

As part of the organizationsÃ' joint research, Qualcomm and RNIB will work with Loughborough UniversityÃ's Ergonomics and Safety Research Institute to support post-graduate scientific studies into the use of mobile phone screen reader technology by blind and partially sighted people. Through this research, the organizations will work to identify ways to improve mobile phone design for people with sight problems, and to provide a set of best practice design recommendations based on the research results.

On the web: Royal National Institute of Blind People

Posted to the site on 19th September 2008