Bengal
App for visually impaired
- The Statesman
- 29 Oct 2014
App identifies denomination of currency notes from photograph
Biswabrata Goswami
biswabrata@thestatesman.net
Midnapore, 28 October
Students from IIT, Kharagpur and International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad have developed a smartphone
application that can recognise the denomination of a currency note from its picture.
The app will be helpful for visually impaired persons, who often have difficulty identifying denomination of currency notes. After taking a photograph of a bank note, the app will inform the holder via voice intimation. A visually impaired person could have significant trouble differentiating the value of one piece of currency from the next.
Though the RBI has added embossing of different shapes unique to each denomination on the left side of the note, it is quite hard to make out.
Particularly, when the note is worn out with time, it appears more difficult to recognise a currency note for a visually impaired person.
The size of notes of different denominations, are also very similar, which makes it harder. Other than the images printed upon them, there may be no way to tell the difference between a hundred rupees note and a thousand rupees note. That is where this application comes into play.
The app has been developed by Suriya Singh, Kumar Vishal and C.V. Jawahar from IIIT Hyderabad and Shushman Choudhury from IIT Kharagpur. The application can detect the denominations with an accuracy of 96.7 per cent, claim one of the researchers.
While demonstrating the application in Kharagpur recently, Shushman said the smart phone needs a 1.3 MP camera with auto focus. He said, “Several similar systems have been developed around the world, but most need an internet connection on the smart phone. This app, however, doesn’t require internet.”
This application is not only the sole one that has created ways to help people who are blind and low vision deal with money. In the USA, LookTel Money Reader, iPhone users with vision disabilities can simply point the device’s camera at any bill, and wait for the app to recognise it. Once it does, the Money Reader will speak the value of the bill out loud.
But, in our country, most visually impaired persons are still facing the difficulty in recognising the denomination of currency notes. But, from now, it will be easier for them to deal with the currency notes, said an IIT, KGP student.
Biswabrata Goswami
biswabrata@thestatesman.net
Midnapore, 28 October
Students from IIT, Kharagpur and International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad have developed a smartphone
application that can recognise the denomination of a currency note from its picture.
The app will be helpful for visually impaired persons, who often have difficulty identifying denomination of currency notes. After taking a photograph of a bank note, the app will inform the holder via voice intimation. A visually impaired person could have significant trouble differentiating the value of one piece of currency from the next.
Though the RBI has added embossing of different shapes unique to each denomination on the left side of the note, it is quite hard to make out.
Particularly, when the note is worn out with time, it appears more difficult to recognise a currency note for a visually impaired person.
The size of notes of different denominations, are also very similar, which makes it harder. Other than the images printed upon them, there may be no way to tell the difference between a hundred rupees note and a thousand rupees note. That is where this application comes into play.
The app has been developed by Suriya Singh, Kumar Vishal and C.V. Jawahar from IIIT Hyderabad and Shushman Choudhury from IIT Kharagpur. The application can detect the denominations with an accuracy of 96.7 per cent, claim one of the researchers.
While demonstrating the application in Kharagpur recently, Shushman said the smart phone needs a 1.3 MP camera with auto focus. He said, “Several similar systems have been developed around the world, but most need an internet connection on the smart phone. This app, however, doesn’t require internet.”
This application is not only the sole one that has created ways to help people who are blind and low vision deal with money. In the USA, LookTel Money Reader, iPhone users with vision disabilities can simply point the device’s camera at any bill, and wait for the app to recognise it. Once it does, the Money Reader will speak the value of the bill out loud.
But, in our country, most visually impaired persons are still facing the difficulty in recognising the denomination of currency notes. But, from now, it will be easier for them to deal with the currency notes, said an IIT, KGP student.
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