Impressed by his grandparents’ struggles with fashionable know-how because of motor tremors, highschool junior Dhanvin Ganeshkumar is growing an assistive app referred to as Swype AI. The appliance goals to make computer systems extra accessible for individuals with motor disabilities, reminiscent of these brought on by Parkinson’s illness or ALS. Swype AI will enable a consumer to manage their laptop by way of a free smartphone app, utilizing easy gestures or voice instructions, bypassing the necessity for a conventional mouse or keyboard which could be tough for some to function.
Ganeshkumar is growing the app as a for-profit startup, a call he made after realizing a non-profit mannequin could be more durable to scale. Nonetheless, his major mission is to make sure the know-how is broadly accessible. The plan is to supply the core performance of Swype AI totally free, making it accessible to underprivileged communities that can’t afford costly assistive gadgets, which may typically price over $1,000. The corporate will generate income by way of elective in-app purchases for superior customization options.
Constructed utilizing Python and superior hand-tracking know-how, the venture confronted a major technical hurdle throughout growth. Early variations of the app had a noticeable lag, and the unsteady hand actions of customers with tremors would trigger the on-screen cursor to be erratic and tough to manage. To unravel this, the group built-in a complicated smoothing filter, a mathematical device that intelligently predicts the consumer’s meant movement and filters out the “noise” from involuntary shakes. By fine-tuning this technique, they had been capable of create a extremely responsive and correct cursor that strikes easily in real-time, offering a dependable and frustration-free consumer expertise.
Presently in beta testing, Swype AI has already gained important traction. Ganeshkumar has consulted with over 15 accessibility organizations to refine the app and has secured round $7,500 in funding and awards to cowl preliminary manufacturing prices. He’s utilizing coding abilities discovered at his STEM-focused highschool and analysis expertise to construct the app, with plans for a public launch throughout the subsequent few months. He hopes his journey encourages different younger individuals to develop and share their revolutionary concepts.
Watch the video under to see some fast demos of how Swype AI works and head to their web site to study extra about Swype AI.
Supply (1): ARL Now, Supply (2): DevPost