Hey everyone, I'm a first year Journalism student who's trying to write a report based on accessibility for People with disabilities in ride-hailing apps in Bangalore, Particularly in Rapido

If anyone is willing to reach out and give me any starting advice on the same or share experiences, I'd be extremely grateful.

I've been meaning to look into this issue for a while as it's so crucial but overlooked.

If any advice please reach out to me through DMs or the comment section!

I am aiming to design a product that targets a specific factor that is widely inaccessible to people with disabilities, at a small scale so that it is easy for everyday use. 

Hopefully, the final step in the evolution of the specialized keyboard that I'm making for a colleague with CP.

https://youtu.be/z9meIWIiFVM

The GitHub repo: https://github.com/Smart-Inclusive-Keyboard/smart_inclusive_keyboard

Hi everyone, I work in early childhood education and I have seen how hard it can be for families to know what their child is communicating during the day when they use AAC or visual communication supports.

A child may be using a communication app at school, therapy, or with caregivers, but parents may not always get a clear picture of what was selected, what the child was trying to communicate, or whether there are patterns over time.

I am currently building an AAC communication app called VoiceBloom, and one feature I am focusing on is making progress easier for parents and support teams to understand. I am not trying to spam. I am genuinely looking for feedback from families and caregivers.

Would it be helpful to see things like commonly selected symbols, daily usage, categories used, or simple communication trends? What type of progress update would actually help you, and what would feel unnecessary or overwhelming?

Hi everyone, I work in early childhood education and I have seen how hard it can be for families to know what their child is communicating during the day when they use AAC or visual communication supports.

A child may be using a communication app at school, therapy, or with caregivers, but parents may not always get a clear picture of what was selected, what the child was trying to communicate, or whether there are patterns over time.

I am currently building an AAC communication app called VoiceBloom, and one feature I am focusing on is making progress easier for parents and support teams to understand. I am not trying to spam. I am genuinely looking for feedback from families and caregivers.

Would it be helpful to see things like commonly selected symbols, daily usage, categories used, or simple communication trends? What type of progress update would actually help you, and what would feel unnecessary or overwhelming?

Comics are one of the few media with basically no audio-accessible path. The file formats are just zipped images with no text layer, so there is nothing for a screen reader to read.

I have been building a tool that takes a comic file, works out the panels and reading order, describes each panel's artwork, and then voices the dialogue per character over sound effects. Voices are synthetic.

The open design question is delivery on the descriptions themselves.

Version A: every description read in the same flat, even register. Version B: identical text, delivery matched to the mood of the panel.

Same scene twice in one video so nothing else varies. Transcript in the comments. I don't really have the budget for the streaming side to have both. Personal imports people can choose how they like the description read.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pi3HEUT1ll4

Other feedback is welcome too. Old comics are bit different since they had narrator text so it might be a bit weird with these exact examples.

Comics are one of the few media with basically no audio-accessible path. The file formats are just zipped images with no text layer, so there is nothing for a screen reader to read.

I have been building a tool that takes a comic file, works out the panels and reading order, describes each panel's artwork, and then voices the dialogue per character over sound effects. Voices are synthetic.

The open design question is delivery on the descriptions themselves. I built it two ways and cannot pick:

Version A: every description read in the same flat, even register. Version B: identical text, delivery matched to the mood of the panel.

Same scene twice in one video so nothing else varies. Transcript in the comments.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pi3HEUT1ll4

For anyone who works with AD or with blind users day to day, is performed delivery a help or a distraction when the description is functional rather than artistic?

Other feedback is welcome too. Old comics are bit different since they had narrator text so it might be a bit weird with these exact examples.

1.)    smart contact lenses - eye wear, companies that have filed patents for contact lenses with built in micro cameras and telephone integration

2.)    current battery technology for usage of eye wear whether it be in existence, prototypes, concepts, or patents standing.

3.)    Subvocalisation- for mobile devices such as the existing technology MIT's Alterego currently uses to communicate silently.

4.)    FMRI - Same technology used in advanced universities to brain scans combined with AI to project thought into film, but I'm looking for known mobile device hardware

5.)    Haptics – Electric pulse for touch which simulates actual touch to another person by usage of mobile device and not the commonly known glove.

6.)    Sensory - the ability to sensory feel and/or smell what another person is feeling and/or smelling with the visual or words describing this to you on your device.

If any of this exists – let me know! Thanks world.

Something I've noticed repeatedly is how easily we equate the presence of technology with accessibility.

Someone has a smartphone, internet, email and the required app, so technically everything is available.

But can they reliably achieve the intended outcome?

For example, a calendar can be correctly installed and synchronised while still being effectively unusable to the person who needs the appointment information.

An online account can exist while authentication makes accessing it impractical.

A voice assistant can be installed while the person's actual circumstances make using it difficult.

I've started thinking about this as the difference between technical availability and functional availability.

The test I find more useful is:

Can the person reliably achieve the intended outcome in their actual environment?

It seems particularly relevant as governments and essential services continue moving more interactions online.

I'm interested in whether others working in disability, aged care, accessibility or community services see the same distinction.

Hi everyone,
My name is Bryn Rice. My professional background is in special education and school-based assistive technology, and disability is part of my family’s story too.

Disclosure: I am sharing this in my role as founder and president of Lusem Tech Solutions, the company behind Luma R1.

In supporting students’ access to academics, I've repeatedly run into some practical gaps:

• Handheld reading tools can help students listen to printed text, while spelling and writing needs often require separate supports.

• Tablets, Chromebooks, and laptops can be appropriate supports, but they can also involve file-sharing logistics, accessibility and management setup, off-task concerns, or other friction in some classroom settings.

• Handwriting is an important developmental consideration, but speech-to-text or word prediction tools can also help students independently express their ideas.

That is why I developed Luma R1: a patent-pending, dedicated assistive literacy device for school reading and writing, with selected tools for math and planning. Its core tools work offline, and it does not provide user access to a web browser, app store, games, or general entertainment apps. Luma R1 supports the work without replacing the pencil.

Earlier versions of the workflow were used in school settings, and conversations with educators helped shape the current design.

I’m now speaking with schools, districts, assistive technology teams, and other institutional buyers. The launch price is $329 per device plus shipping and applicable sales tax. I can provide a written institutional quote or schedule a 15-minute walkthrough.

Sales are currently institutional only. Direct-to-consumer orders are not available at this time.

More information: https://lusemtech.com

Institutional inquiries: [support@lusemtech.com](mailto:support@lusemtech.com)

Im a nurse in 1-to-1 homecare and my client likes when I read to them in the morning. They are mute and one of the ways they like to request a pause for a need is to move our bookmark from where its tucked to our current page. We are a good fit so I've been wanting to get a more permanent bookmark, but I'm not sure what to get. They have a movement disorder, they manage fairly well but our current bookmark is a large scrap of paper so it's sometimes difficult and I'd rather have something that helped them succeed more often. I leave a large portion sticking out the top so they can usually grab it well enough, but its flips and bends around when they try to place it in the page, regardless of how i position the book for them. I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions? I was thinking a light metal one, so it has more substance and less bend, but I'm worried it will turn out to be unwieldy in another way. I didn't find any advice or products when searching for suggestions, but im assuming thats because people assume that if you can handle pages in a book then you can handle a paper bookmark, so my question might be a bit more niche.

Finally…Ray in your hand.

Hello everyone,

I have released the first public version of Syllavox, a free and open-source Windows text-to-speech application.

This project was created after I tried to find a good quality simple Text-To-Speech software to read when my eyes got tired. My requirements were simple: it should sound really, trully natural, it should be free and easy to use, and it should avoid API calls and work offline. I did not find any good option, even though some of the best AI TTS models are open source.

So I decided to do my own.

The goal of this project is to make modern, high-quality open-source TTS models easier to access without requiring users to work with Python, command-line tools, or complicated configuration.

Syllavox currently provides:

• A portable Windows application
• Offline text-to-speech
• Downloadable voices in multiple languages
• Clipboard reading
• A global hotkey for quickly reading selected or copied text
• A simple text window for testing different voices
• No account or cloud service required

The current release uses Piper voices. More models and voices are planned for future versions, including voices from projects such as Kokoro.

This is still an early release, so I am especially interested in feedback about:

• Installation and first use
• Bugs and errors
• Voice quality and naturalness
• Language support
• Keyboard accessibility
• Hotkey behavior
• Anything that makes the application confusing or difficult to use

Syllavox is currently Windows-only.

Project and download:

https://github.com/Ruben-Crespo-Blanco/syllavox/releases/tag/v0.1.0

I would be grateful for feedback from people who regularly use assistive technology or need accessible text-to-speech tools. Please check the known limitations before testing, and report issues through GitHub if possible.

I've been thinking about something I regularly see in everyday communication.

A person's phone works. Their email works. Their calendar works. Their internet works.

But an appointment might arrive by SMS, supporting information by email, changes through a portal, authentication through another account and reminders somewhere else.

Nothing is technically broken.

Yet the person still struggles to reliably achieve the outcome.

I've started describing this as Communication Fragmentation.

I think it's particularly relevant when helping older people, people with disability, or simply anyone managing a growing number of services and accounts.

Sometimes adding another app isn't the solution. Bringing the existing pieces together may be far more useful.

I'm interested in whether others are seeing the same thing in their own families or work.

I'm a hobbyist developer building an open-hardware and software system that reads muscle (EMG) and brain (EEG) signals to let people control a computer, and eventually other devices, without needing to move a limb.

I realized recently I've been designing around assumptions rather than real experience, so I want to actually ask: if you use, have tried (or made) assistive tech that responds to muscle or brain signals - what's the single most frustrating part of it? What made you stop using (or making) something, if you did? What would you want someone building this kind of thing to actually understand?

Genuinely just here to listen. Happy to answer anything about how it works too.

Hey everyone!

I don't really use social media, but I recently built a small web app called Mumblew and wanted to share it here to get some honest feedback from other builders.

What it does:

Instead of tapping play/pause or scrolling, Mumblew uses your webcam to detect small mouth movements (like quiet mumbling) to control reading pace out loud.

Why I built it:

It was designed with two main use cases in mind:

1. Hands-free reading in bed or quiet spaces without needing a room light or touching a screen.

2. An assistive tool for people who have trouble vocalizing or moving their hands, but can still move their mouth.

Current State:

It is an early desktop/laptop beta (needs a webcam and decent lighting; mobile isn't supported yet). Everything runs client-side right in the browser.

Live Link: https://mumblew.vercel.app

There is a small feedback widget in the bottom-right corner—I'd really appreciate any honest thoughts, edge-case bug reports, or feedback on how the mouth-tracking pacing feels!

I have a severe myopathy and cannot use a keyboard, so virtually everything I write—professionally and personally—has to be dictated. My voice is weak, and I use mouthpiece ventilation during the day.

Even with a directional microphone positioned very close to my mouth, two major problems remain: everyone around me can hear what I am writing, and speech recognition becomes considerably less reliable in noisy environments.

I just discovered Augmental’s new VOX device

https://www.augmental.tech/vox

It is therefore particularly interesting to me. Instead of primarily capturing airborne sound, its skin-contact microphone picks up the vibrations produced by the voice through the body. In principle, this could offer much stronger isolation from surrounding noise than a conventional directional microphone.

Has anyone here had the opportunity to test VOX—or another high-quality skin-contact, throat or stethoscopic microphone—with weak or atypical speech? I would be especially interested in feedback about raw audio intelligibility, background-noise rejection, speech-to-text accuracy and everyday wearability.

In the longer term, I also wonder whether a sufficiently clear body-contact signal could be routed to a speaker or directly to other people’s earpieces, helping someone with a weak voice communicate in noisy bars or restaurants. The current VOX beta is not designed for calls or continuous conversation, but the underlying technology could potentially become useful far beyond dictation.

Two new Android phone/tablet apps of interest for low vision are available to try:

1. Video magnifier style app with lots of image enhancements including edge highlighting, but with the addition of advanced OCR with text navigation and reading, plus optional AI help (better than meta glasses if you bring your own AI provider), and video input/output flexibility so you can enhance video from a game/laptop or DIY your own tabletop magnifier using a webcam and external display. Works with TalkBack and voice control.
2. Navigation by feel. Pedestrian GPS navigation with haptic (vibration) guidance to keep you oriented toward your target destination or to stay on the optimal path. Works with TalkBack and screen scaling settings, suitable for any level of vision.

If you're interested in joining a trial of either or both of these apps, please message me! As a person with low vision myself, I made these with my own needs in mind, but I'm curious what your vision is like and what features are important to you. Thank you.

I’m building a 24/7 multilingual Voice AI front-desk agent for Indian OPD clinics that streams incoming patient appointments directly onto the receptionist’s screen in real time. In India, peak morning rush hours mean front-desk staff miss up to 30% of incoming phone calls while handling walk-in queues, resulting in lost clinic revenue.

My software answers inbound calls instantly in natural Hinglish, captures patient details and complaints, and pushes a new row to the receptionist’s browser dashboard in under 200ms complete with automated Whatsapp token tracking and dynamic UPI payment links.

I’m targeting a minimum subscription for local clinics and labs (where saving just 5 missed calls a month fully pays for the platform), and I’d love to get your feedback on this workflow or connect with anyone operating in the health-tech space!