‘Vision’ary talent

A young inventor has taken it upon himself to work on devices that help the differently-abled. While his first invention, Eyescribe, is winning accolades, he is already planning his next device on speech-impairment.

Wonders happen when the power of humanity joins hands with scientific thinking. Science has the power to destroy as well as nurture. And it is the nurturing power the world needs more than ever.

When a young Gursimran Singh saw his grandfather’s brother suffer from blindness, he decided he will do something about it. Although he couldn’t help him out, the experience changed him forever. “His struggles made me think of steps I could take to better the lives of people. I can’t stand people who discriminate against those who are differently-abled. This motivated me to utilise science for a better cause,” says Gursimran.

The device ‘Eyescribe’

Gursimran, a class XI student, has devised ‘Eyescribe’, an assistive device that enables visually-impaired people to read by providing them a 3D aural environment using the concept of binaural beats. The device facilitates reading and comprehension by dictating the text and allowing the user to create a mental picture of the subject.

The device is not only spreading the joy of reading but is also very helpful in performing daily tasks. “The person using the device wears an audio device, like simple earphones, or bluetooth ones and connects them to Eyescribe, which then translates pictures and text into audio for easy usage,” explains Gursimran. The production of this prototype cost him around Rs 5,000. “But if this device is mass produced, the price should decrease substantially. I want to see more people benefit from this device,” he adds.

A student reading with the help of ‘Eyescribe’.

The young inventor wants to get a patent for this device and is in talks with a major company to take it to a bigger level.

Gursimran started working on the project in July 2016. “The entire process of developing this device took me four months. Then I got associated with Captain Chanderlal Special School for Blind, where the device helped many children read effortlessly. All the improvisations on the device happened based on the data I collected at this school. I regularly visited the school and interacted with the students,” he shares. Gursimran has gifted this device to the school for future use as well.

He later collaborated with the National Association of Blind for further research on his device. He has also showcased Eyescribe at various college fests and competitions. Almost 150 users have tested his device till date and with each user feedback, Gursimran improvises Eyescribe.

He has also got a grant-in-aid of Rs 20 lakh and a maker-space from NITI Aayog to develop EyeScribe at a commercial level for distribution across the country.

Gursimran Singh

In the future too, Gursimran wants to work for the betterment of the differently-abled. “I have realised that my potential lies in providing solutions for differently-abled, so I will continue with different ideas in this direction. For example, the next device I am working on is for people living with speech-impairment. It will work in a way that a person will only need to lip the words they want to speak and the device will convert it into sound.”

Gursimran believes in trusting one’s ideas and working on them, “Our life is like a webpage. The brain sends us pop-ups every day and we should never block them. It is our curiosity which navigates and opens a new tab in our life,” he says.