A team from South Africa has won the TIM (Telecom Italia Mobile) Operator's Award in the Gemalto SIMagine Developer Contest at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain.
The international competition sources innovative projects in the field of wireless applications that provide mobile phones with value-added services. This year a duo from Rhodes University was selected by a committee of international jurors as one of eight finalists from over 200 entries worldwide.
The team consists of Dr Hannah Thinyane, a Computer Science lecturer at Rhodes University, and Mamello Thinyane, lecturer and research coordinator at Rhodes University and the University of Fort Hare. Their concept, iCanSee, is a Smart Card Web Server (SCWS)-based application developed to provide the visually-impaired community with improved cellphone functionality.
According to Mamello Thinyane, iCanSee works by supplying a Web-based front-end to four of the most frequently used text-based communication tools on cellphones: phonebook, SMS, MMS, and e-mail. The application enables users to create their own profiles by changing background and foreground colour for contrast as well as font colour and size.
“Because iCanSee is implemented on a SIM card and stores the interface profiles on the SIM, it means users can use different cellphones and still have their accessibility profiles available,” says Thinyane.
He adds that iCanSee does not necessitate buying a different hardware device, but taps into readily available devices – cellphones. While current solutions for this problem tend to be functionally limited, Thinyane says iCanSee is implemented on a SIM card that can be utilised on a standard cellphone with basic Web capabilities.
The inspiration for iCanSee came from the realisation that there was a need for greater cellphone accessibility among the visually-impaired community, says Thinyane. “The bigger picture here is that iCanSee is contributing towards digital inclusion for those people who are currently marginalised as a result of being visually-impaired. This is but one of the solutions to the bigger problem of digital divide and information and knowledge marginalisation.”
Network operator TIM has a history of supporting technology that aids blind and visually-impaired users. In December, TIM introduced mobile phone screen readers and magnifiers which allow individuals to use their cellphones even if they cannot read the visual screen. The TIM Mobile Speak and TIM Mobile Magnifier applications transform visual content into synthesised speech using Loquendo's text-to-speech technology, so users can have SMSes and other messages read out to them.
Calling all operators
For the technology to become widely available, however, businesses will have to get on board.
“Bringing iCanSee to the market can only really be achieved with a buy-in from a mobile operator – this is a crucial factor....We will be exploring the interest from mobile operators, both locally and internationally. There is usually a great deal of interest from international operators, and a great deal of establishing contacts at the MWC,” says Mamello Thinyane.
He adds that the win gives their technology a “vote of confidence” by the selection panel, because applications are evaluated on, among other things, market appeal, ease of development, and their technological and business feasibility.
Hannah Thinyane, who made the final presentation to the judging panel and public at the MWC, says winning means they have a real chance of seeing iCanSee being taken up by a network operator. “The MWC is a who's who in the network operator industry. It is an excellent place to meet companies who are in the position to make iCanSee happen. We have been approached by a couple of companies already who are interested in the project.”
Their achievement could also help garner exposure for local talent. “It's always exciting to win, especially in the context of an international contest and it really goes to show the quality of the work and also the potential for South Africa to be an international player in the mobile application domain,” says Mamello Thinyane.
“One of the key things we still need to get right is establishing mechanisms that allow for a conversion of such ideas and prototypes into marketable, commercial product offerings.”
It is the second year that the two South African developers have reached the final levels of the contest. In 2008 they also walked away with the TIM Prize for their integrated communication and access infrastructure, Mobi-Campus, while Mamello Thinyane and colleagues won the MTN Operator Award for their mobile solution SIMPre in 2007.
Story BY LEZETTE ENGELBRECHT, IT WEB