05 Jan 2012
By: AMANDA TAN
THE visually impaired here may soon find it easier to be independent, thanks to new devices developed by a group of 10 polytechnic students.
Among the inventions, which were developed by engineering students from Temasek Polytechnic, is an iPhone application which will help users maintain proper focus when reading.
It involves mounting the iPhone on a case with rollers which will scroll through the page. It will magnify the text to make reading easier for those with impaired vision. It can also read the text aloud for those who cannot see well enough to read.
Another iPhone application will help users identify the value of Singapore currency notes when they snap a picture of it using the phone’s built-in camera. A recorded voice will then read out the value of the note.
The students, who are studying for a diploma in media & communication technology, also came up with two more applications for Android devices.
They are still working with the Singapore Association of the Visually Handicapped to refine the inventions, which form part of their final-year project.
These items will be displayed at the polytechnic’s open house from today to Saturday.
Inventions by students will also feature at the open houses of Singapore Polytechnic (SP) and Ngee Ann Polytechnic, which will take place during the same period.
At SP, engineering students have developed an Intelli-Sense Bed to help prevent bed sores in patients.
This system relieves nurses of having to turn patients over at regular intervals. There are plans to put it through clinical trials later this year.
At Ngee Ann Polytechnic, three devices for patients undergoing physiotherapy will be on display.
Among them is a shoulder exercise machine for patients who are recovering from operations or stroke.
Ngee Ann students worked on these devices over the past year, in collaboration with the Singapore General Hospital.
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