Audiobook App for Visually Impaired to be Made by Korea’s Top Fiber Maker
“The visually impaired now will be able to enjoy diverse contents regardless of the time and location, with our application.” (image: Taekwang Group)
SEOUL, July 29 (Korea Bizwire) –Taekwang Group, Korea’s synthetic fiber manufacturer, said it will develop an audiobook application for visually impaired.
The group’s info-techunit Tsis announced on July 27 that it has endorsed in initiating the “Audiobook Application Development Project” with the Korea Society for the Welfare of the Visually Handicapped. Upon completion of the project, the visually impaired will be able to enjoy various contents just with a smartphone, instead of making a trip to a Braille library.
The application will enable for the blind user to enjoy audiobooks, audio movies, audio magazines and an easy access to the online community for the visually handicapped anywhere and anytime. Over 23,000 audiobooks will be available through the application. Taekwang group will support 100 million won (about US$100,000) for the app’s development.
Digital contents, such as audiobooks in cassettes and CDs have been made available for the visually disabled through Braille libraries only, or in audio files acquired on the Internet. An official in Tsis said, “The visually impaired now will be able to enjoy diverse contents regardless of the time and location, with our application.”
The app which will be created by the project will come with a voice search feature, the first such application. The voice search feature will allow the blind user, who is unable to type in the keyword, to search for any contents by saying its name on to the device.
The application will also include online educational contents to expand on the visually impaired person’s opportunities for learning. The audiobook app project will be completed by October and will be available for free.
Kang Tae-deok, the CEO of the company, said, “It is not unusual to see people enjoying mobile contents with smart devices nowadays, but it is still an unfamiliar thing for the visually handicapped. We hope to see the visually impaired communicating with our society more freely and more conveniently.”
By J. H. Kim (jhkim@koreabizwire.com)
