IBM collaborate with varsities in India and Japan to make mobile devices more accessible

IBM is embarking on a research project to design mobile gadgets which will be easy to use for people with disabilities or those who are not fully literate.

The institute has collaborated with India’s National Institute of Design and the University of Tokyo’s Research Center for Advance Science and Technology.

The aim of the collaboration is to develop a common interface for mobile devices that will make the gadgets easier to use.

According to Chieko Asakawa, an IBM Fellow and chief technology officer of IBM’s accessibility research, through this collaborative research initiative, the institute will uncover real information accessibility requirements and issues that the elderly and people in developing economies are facing everyday.

He is also of the opinion that by focusing on mobile devices, which have a tremendous potential to empower them, the findings will help them offer affordable services to large population who are still deprived of access to key information sources.