Cape Town – The Cape Town Society for the Blind has launched an initiative to introduce a new computerised system specifically for the blind.
The organisation is working to promote and market the JAWS (Job Access With Speech) computerised system.
Converting text to speech
The JAWS computer system converts text to speech among other functions such as its ability to identify items on shop shelves. Once installed on a smartphone the computerised systems app can audibly read the item back to the person pointing the phone at the item.
CTSB chief executive Liezel de Wet said that JAWS could be used to better enable people living with disabilities, among them people with partial sight and those who are blind.
Creating a conscious, accessible working environment
De Wet said: “People living with disabilities are just as capable as most of us. JAWS creates a conscious, accessible working environment for people living with disabilities. It helps them to carry out whatever task they need to do, be it at home or in their work spaces or school environment”.
Among those advocating for the recognition and better accessible environments for people living with disabilities is CTSB’s awareness officer Vincent Daniels.
“JAWS is a great servant to the visually impaired and CTSB is more than just an expert on the training of optimal usage of the JAWS, it is a community for people who are visually impaired,” he said.
Source: https://www.iol.co.za/capeargus/news/new-system-gives-blind-people-in-cape-town-a-boost-49372392
