State of Assistive Technology amongst the Visually Impaired community: A needs assessment in Pune, India.

published in : Curieux academic journal

Table of Index

• Abstract

• Introduction

• Methodology

• Ethics

• Participant Details

• Discussion

• Conclusion

• References

Abstract

This research, based in Pune, India, is dedicated to conducting an extensive needs analysis for assistive technology, its adoption, and use in existing frameworks for the visually impaired.

Research conducted by Sarah Kisanga et al, as well as information from a WIPO website, was taken into consideration before and while collecting data and writing this paper. This paper aims to gauge the state of assistive technology in Pune, India, by analyzing the benefits of and the gaps visible in the AT used by the visually impaired. The use of interviews was the primary source of data collection to gain transcribable testimonial responses to a standardized set of questions for the facile conduct of a thematic analysis. Participants reported a multitude of issues with assistive technology from not only the technical point of view, but also the point of view of its usage in current frameworks and institutions, including but not limited to the standardization of infrastructure and the existence of a conservative pedagogy. Additionally, some problems were those for which the VI had already thought of potential solutions, including but not limited to the integration of screen readers with AI tools.  Certain technological solutions that the VI require have already been invented. It is simply their lack of implementation or excessive cost involved with implementation that is causing some of the issues discussed in the analyzed interviews. Simply increasing technological integration and adoption of these solutions can further the field of assistive technology for the VI in India.

Introduction

Assistive technology is an umbrella term for assistive products and their related systems and services. Assistive products help maintain or improve an individual’s functioning related to cognition, communication, hearing, mobility, self-care, and vision, thus enabling their health, well-being, inclusion, and participation (World Health Organization: WHO). The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act defines such devices as “any item, piece of equipment, or product system that is used to increase, maintain, or improve the functional capabilities of a child and specifically excludes a medical device that is surgically implanted or the replacement of such device.” Simply put, assistive technology is any piece of equipment or technology that facilitates the routine aspects of daily life, including work, communication, and mobility (IRIS). Some commonly used Assistive technologies (AT) by Visually impaired (VI) are as follows:

1. Screen readers ​​(Wayne State University) are software programs that allow blind or visually impaired users to read the text that is displayed on the computer screen with a speech synthesizer or braille display. A screen reader is the interface between the computer's operating system, its applications, and the user.

2. Smart canes (IIT Delhi): A person with blindness can easily detect obstacles on the ground, surface textures, potholes, etc. while travelling with a standard white cane. However, a white cane cannot detect overhanging objects like tree branches, sign boards, open glass windows, etc. Also, at times, using a white cane could result in scratching a parked vehicle with a cane, bumping into another person, etc. A Smart Cane solves the above challenges and empowers the visually impaired through independent and safe mobility.

3. Bookshare (Who We Are - Bookshare): Bookshare is an online library of accessible ebooks for people with print disabilities. The Marrakesh treaty, adopted by the World Intellectual Property Organization in 2013, creates exceptions to copyright laws to allow the reproduction, distribution, and sharing of published works in accessible formats (like braille, large print, or audio) for people with print disabilities. Out of all, India was the first country to ratify the treaty (India Is First to Ratify “Marrakesh Treaty” Easing Access to Books for Persons Who Are Visually Impaired). The treaty enables Bookshare to expand its services in India by allowing for the import and export of accessible format books, potentially increasing the availability of books in Indian languages and making it easier for individuals with print disabilities to access educational and recreational materials.

Sarah et al (Kisanga et al.) study the educational impact of AT on the VI students of Tanzania, while especially considering access/availability to, benefits derived from, and understanding of AT devices, with special emphasis on their need for AT to support them in the process of education. The researchers presented that access to the use of AT was to be considered a basic human right for the impaired, educators should take every effort to increase the inclusivity of education, inhibitions to their societal image as well as development must be eliminated or minimized, legislative measures must be adopted and improved worldwide - especially in countries where they are minimum/non-existent - to increase the inclusion of the VI community into society: this helps both the VI and their educators to protect themselves constitutionally.

While a lot of research (“Assistive Technologies: Addressing the Divide Between the Developed and Developing World”) is done about the adoption and understanding of Assistive technology in first world countries, there is a lack of availability of literature in the developing countries like India, this research aims to fill that gap by understanding the adoption of AT by VI in Pune, India. The research was conducted with the help of semi-structured interviews, and people were reached out to through snowball sampling, in which individuals with access to the VI community were asked to assist in reaching out to the VI community.

Methodology

This research aims to understand the adoption of accessibility technology and conduct an extensive thematic analysis of what is required to further the scope of AT for the VI. Data was collected by power users (VI users accustomed to working jobs in the technological sector using AT) amongst the VI, and an understanding of their perspective was gained in order to analyze the significance of AT in their lives as well as understand their needs.

Interviews

The research started with in-person interviews that covered extensive themes regarding what types of AT they use in their everyday lives, moving on to their use of AT in education and their jobs and the issues they face with its usage, later discussing the ethics of using AT. We drew inspiration from a paper published by Sarah and Dalton Kisanga (Kisanga et al.), from which we extracted a few of the questions that were asked in the interview and the demographic factors that were considered to classify our interviewees. After transcribing the recordings, we summarized the responses given and merged similar points to create more refined data.

A semi-structured interview was conducted to discuss Assistive Technologies (AT) and their relevance. The interview started with asking demographic questions such as gender, age, degree programme, and nature of employment.

1. “What do you understand by the term ‘assistive technology’?”

2. “Which AT devices are needed to support the learning of students with VI?” What are their benefits for you?

3. “Which assistive technologies are you aware of and which ones are available at your institution?” “What is your opinion about them?”

4.  “What are the benefits of AT devices in facilitating participation and learning?”

5. Which assistive technologies do you use/have you used in the past? Besides these, which ones are you aware of?

6. How are you in terms of your data being used and processed by assistive technologies? Does it infringe on your privacy?

Transcription

Due to a lack of funding, multiple free transcription tools were used to extract data. The following list provides greater insight into the tools used for transcription:

1. Otter.ai: 2 recordings

2. Turboscribe: 5 recordings

3. Descript: 3 recordings

Thematic Analysis

 

Thematic analysis (Jansen) is the study of patterns to uncover meaning. In other words, it’s about analyzing the patterns and themes within your data set to identify the underlying meaning. Thematic analysis offers the researchers a flexible analytical framework to work under, especially needed in this case. Since this research is based on lived experiences and opinions, researchers can find it easier and more empirical to interpret the various nuances in the opinions of these power users, under the umbrella of a thematic analysis (Nowell et al.).

Through a thematic analysis, we can consider a multi-layered analytical approach to consider the social, identity-related, independence-related, institutional, and literacy-based significance of assistive technology. For example, the interviewee responses for the question about the ethical and privacy concerns of assistive tech can help us understand the intersection between the personal, technical, and institutional impact of AT in the lives of the VI.

Ethics

Informed consent

The researchers informed all the interviewees that the conversations were on the record and that they were going to be transcribed. The interviewees did consent to be recorded after having full knowledge of the former.

Anonymity and confidentiality

The researchers ensured that none of the interviewees’ details were published alongside the data collected to protect their identities and keep their personal information confidential and confined to their own knowledge and theirs only. Any references to the original transcripts will contain only code names, and the names of the participants will be redacted from the record to ensure full anonymity.

Participant Details

This study engaged a demographically varied group of participants with visual impairments, all of whom brought distinct experiences shaped by age, educational exposure, linguistic backgrounds, and regional contexts. The following insights represent aggregate trends while acknowledging individual nuances that inform the broader narrative of assistive technology use.

Age

Participants fell into two primary age groups:

• Young adults (20–23 years) made up the majority of the interviewees. Most in this group were pursuing undergraduate degrees or vocational training at nearby institutes and showed relatively high digital literacy, particularly with screen readers and mobile-based assistive tools. This was mainly due to their growing accustomed to this tech.

• A small number of participants were in their late 20s to mid-30s. These individuals had either recently transitioned into assistive tech due to late-onset blindness or were engaged in re-skilling efforts by learning how to handle tech-intensive jobs using assistive tech.

Impairment Type

All participants identified as visually impaired, but their degree of impairment varied:

• Several were completely blind since birth, requiring full reliance on non-visual learning methods from an early age, hence had already adapted to current assistive tech.

• Other participants had low vision or partial vision, with impairments ranging from 30% to 75%. Due to the nature of their impairment, these individuals typically used just screen readers and magnifiers.

• Some participants had progressive vision loss—for example, due to conditions like glaucoma—with worsening sight over time.

Educational Background

Participants represented a wide spectrum of academic qualifications as well as pursuits:

• The majority of the participants were enrolled in undergraduate programs, especially in the arts, commerce, or computer science.

• Some were pursuing or had completed their postgraduate studies, notably in subjects like political science and English literature.

• Several were also undergoing specialized vocational training in areas like accessibility testing, database management, and AI/machine learning, reflecting their efforts to upskill themselves using assistive tech.

Geographic and Linguistic Context

All participants came from diverse geographic regions in India, including both urban and semi-urban settings, with a large cluster from Maharashtra. A few also originated from northern and central states such as Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat, reflecting a cross-regional representation.

Linguistically, all participants were multilingual, with most comfortably using Hindi, Marathi, and English. English was primarily used for academic instruction and technical learning, while local languages played an important role in everyday communication and early education.

Discussion

The following themes are discussed in the paper:

What is Assistive Technology?

Quite a few participants described assistive technology as something that helps their daily life, assisting them to achieve anything using technology (World Health Organization: WHO, Assistive Technology). A few described it as a way to overcome physical challenges, limitations, and other hindrances (World Health Organization). A couple participants mentioned that it was used by the disabled to access web content in the form of web applications or websites (“What Is AT? - Assistive Technology Industry Association”); this definition was also often extended to include that assistive technology was present to help the visually impaired get jobs in the technical sector (“Making Apprenticeships and Workplace Learning Inclusive of Persons With Disabilities”). Others mentioned that assistive technology was present not just to help the disabled, but also the sighted. Participants also felt it optimal to emphasize that assistive tech was to remove barriers for the disabled and give them equal access to opportunities (Assistive Technology What Is in a Name | AT2030 Programme). Some participants, on similar lines, also felt it to be empowering to some degree, saying that it allows them to access anything (“Assistive Devices for People With Hearing, Voice, Speech, or Language Disorders”).

Types of Assistive Technologies

A few instances of assistive tech that were commonly known and which were used by the interviewees were NVDA, JAWS, open-source screen readers (Robobionics), magnifier (Senjam et al.), talk back (Android), white cane (Dorcas), etc. Of these technologies, smart vision glasses (Nanda), image reader applications, and cash reader applications were available to some, but not all, of the participants. The less common ones which were mentioned as the assistive technologies that they utilize were markings on the floor for navigation, ramps, footpath, assistive tech present in a particular operating system, agile, Daisy player, PDF readers on mobile, OCR tools for reading PDFs (such as Google Gemini), Envision AI, accessibility suite, Linux accessibility features.

One participant decided to speak about the distinct sound that plays when a device starts recording either video or audio. This sound helps the visually impaired understand that somebody is indeed recording them.

Another participant spoke about a unique kind of accessibility used for education where his teacher used to create graphs and diagrams using physical elements such as rope. It was as a result of this tactile method of teaching that he was able to somewhat understand the context of this visual aid.

Whilst speaking about the technologies that were not available to all of the participants, to display their awareness of current assistive technology in the modern world, the participants decided to speak about the Meta Ray Bans (Top 5 Assistive Technology Devices for People Who Are Blind or Have Low Vision [2023]) and the Be my eyes initiative (“Accessibility Technology for Blind and Low Vision People - Be My Eyes”).

Gaps in Assistive Technologies

Participants identified several specific and recurring gaps in the current state of AT:

• Insufficient Access to Higher Education Material: Many participants indicated that educational content is present in an accessible format only till the 12th grade. Since colleges and universities have different syllabi, some books might be available in a digitally accessible format while others might not: it depends entirely upon the university (Technology for Accessibility in Higher Education — Centre for Internet and Society). One participant noted that they were denied admission into a scientific field because there was a lack of accessible course material. Another participant also spoke about the limited access of study material in braille after the 12th grade (“Enabling Access for Persons With Disabilities to Higher Education and Workplace”).

• Non-Accessibility of Content such as graphs, charts, etc: Visual elements and aids such as graphs, charts, network diagrams, and illustrations in textbooks remain inaccessible. Screen readers have limited capabilities and simply mention the title of the visual aid (SarkariSchool). Current screen readers are also unable to interpret spatial structures or layout-heavy content, leading to major comprehension gaps (Tarini). One participant had suggested that screen readers be able to read spaces, dots, dashes, et cetera. They felt that it would help gain a somewhat imaginative idea of the spatial structure being spoken of in a diagram or chart. Some participants note that their efforts of trying to simplify these visual aids, such as crafts, charts, et cetera have been in vain since AI simply provides a descriptive overview (as per the discussion with the community). Another participant spoke about screen readers, having an issue with efficiently reading images or screenshots. Although they can and are using AI tools to access images, they believe that there should be some improvement in screen readers, such that they will be able to access these (“Enabling Access for Persons With Disabilities to Higher Education and Workplace”).

• Incomprehensible Interpretation of Math and Symbols: A few participants emphasized the inefficiencies of integrating screen readers into mathematical equations, formulae, and symbols. Such inefficiencies create difficulties in the comprehension of STEM subjects. A participant expressed concern about the fact that just a few screen readers offer mathematical equations in an accessible format. They thought that this could be changed and standardized across screen readers (Bell and Silverman).

• Occasional dependence on Sighted Assistance: Due to these gaps in accessible content(especially in diagrams and math), participants often rely on others for explanations, which limits independence and makes self-studying difficult, as per the testimony of 2 participants (Bell and Silverman).

• CAPTCHA and Government Website Inaccessibility: A majority of private as well as government websites have image-based CAPTCHAs and no audio alternatives. Although audio CAPTCHA is used by a few websites, it makes the process quite inconvenient for the visually impaired since screen readers are unable to navigate these compulsory verification steps. Special emphasis was placed on government websites that do not offer inclusive options for their CAPTCHA verification (Bell and Silverman).

• Non-interactive, Passive Learning Experience: AT currently only reads aloud content but cannot answer questions, explain concepts, or allow exploratory learning. Several participants expressed a need for interactive assistants that could clarify doubts, particularly when engaging with complex or unfamiliar material (Shoaib et al.).

• Poor Institutional Provisioning: Not all educational institutions provide AT adequately. Some provide only NVDA; others lack devices like smart glasses or magnifiers. Few institutions follow consistent accessibility policies or frameworks, leading to unequal access (Senjam and Mannan, “Assistive Technology: The Current Perspective in India”).

• Conservative pedagogy: 1 to 2 participants noted that most educational institutions disallow the use of technology on the premises. This defeats the purpose of having an increased adoption of AT, as per the discussion (Technology for Accessibility in Higher Education — Centre for Internet and Society).

• Increased processing time: participants noted an increased processing time compared to their co-workers. They mentioned that an increase in irritability is often seen due to this as well (Batanero-Ochaíta et al.).

• Inefficiencies of smart vision glasses: Interviewees express their opinions about smart vision glasses, especially how they felt that it guided them only in cases of extreme mistakes while navigating a path. Although they did suggest that it was a help while walking on the roads, they also expressed concern about it being dependent on internet connectivity. In India, due to limited access to internet connectivity, while navigating certain parts, smart vision glasses might have limited capabilities as per the participants (YIĞIT).

• Screen reader limitations: A few participants have noted that they come across some content where they feel stuck while using a screen reader (CrowdComms). They have expressed concern for screen readers’ current capabilities, but do not explicitly state how they can be made better. Hence, we can work under the assumption that the previous points stating the limitations of screen readers are the same ones that are valid in this case.

• Standardization of infrastructure: A participant who had been to multiple training centers for the Blind was impressed with the infrastructure at the current one. He placed special emphasis on maintaining a standard for infrastructure in India (Senjam et al.).

• Expenses regarding assistive technology: One participant spoke about using braille displays or other devices as a substitute for visual aids such as charts, graphs, et cetera. However, this participant also expressed concern about the expenses involved in this and stated that their need for such aids is greater than the expense (“Lowering the Price of Braille: A Review of the Seika Braille Display”).

• Mobile usability: Participants also expressed their opinions about mobile accessibility and how its usability was significantly worse than laptop accessibility. This participant provided an example by stating that it was quite difficult to re-hear one particular part of a message. On mobile, they were forced to listen to everything as it was announced again. They were also not satisfied with the editing capabilities in messages or on a document on mobile (Mateus et al.).

• Tables and PDF accessibility: A participant explicitly mentioned that it was very difficult for her to create a new table and conduct calculations in that. She also expressed concern about the screen reader not being accessible for tables in PDF format yet (Damaceno et al.).

How to Enhance Trust and Safety?

• Concerns over Data Privacy: Participants raised concerns about the data collected by open-source AT tools, as well as others that they might use. They feared that some of their sensitive data could be stored or exploited, especially by large corporations without their knowledge. A participant also mentioned that he finds it difficult to trust these corporations despite the agreements that they give out. They also mentioned that a large terms and conditions document may often make the visually impaired lazy to review the whole thing, but placed emphasis that it is necessary to. A few also expressed concern about screen readers giving audio feedback of text, and how it might adversely affect them sometimes. They mentioned that screen readers tend to announce their privacy statements or privacy conditions and other personal documents (Stangl et al.). Several participants pointed out the risk of scams and fraud (Akter et al.).

Two participants mentioned that she does not feel like assistive Tech infringes on their privacy at all. One of them simply stated that they feel just like sighted people who use technology on a day-to-day basis (Kim).

• Emphasis on Consent: Interviewees placed a special emphasis on consent for giving access to data. Terms and conditions were described as vague, but they were well informed regarding the fact that such documents had to be read, no matter how long they were. One participant provided an example that while tools ask for location or voice access, the relevance of such permissions is often unclear. Despite privacy concerns, some participants admitted that they had no choice but to use tools like this, highlighting a trade-off between privacy and access (Stangl et al., “Privacy Concerns for Visual Assistance Technologies”).

• Emphasis on awareness: Participants stated that although the visually impaired community is typically not one that thinks about its data, privacy, and protection, it is quite crucial in today’s time. They talk about how having a certain degree of awareness is crucial as technological development progresses (Kim).

Recommendations: Technological, Framework, and Policy

Technological Recommendations:

• Screen readers must be integrated with an AI assistant that can answer questions based on what is on the screen. Participants have expressed a need to have an assistant who can help them with comprehending data from visual aids, as well as answer any questions about the content read by the screen reader (Ortiz).

• Make slight changes in screen readers to add optional modes so that spatial formatting can be illustrated using symbolic language (e.g., “1 star, 3 spaces, 2 stars…”). Participants mentioned that this mode should exist so that they will be able to understand some types of graphs, charts, and diagrams easily (Seung et al.).

• Develop OCR-based tools that can break down image-based PDFs, scanned textbooks, and tables into a comprehensible format for the visually impaired.

• Improve CAPTCHA accessibility by ensuring widespread implementation of audio CAPTCHA options. Another alternative is to make screen readers able to understand CAPTCHA code, as suggested by a participant.

• Navigational assistive technology, such as smart vision glasses, must not be limited to one's internet connectivity because that greatly limits its use in India (AI-Powered Assistive Technologies for Visual Impairment).

• There is also a need for a type of smart cane that can be used to guide the visually impaired about the path in front of them. Some participants have also requested the train to distinguish between objects that are closed and far away, and if they might pose a hindrance in navigating. They have also spoken about having a GPS system integrated with the device (Khan et al.).

Framework-Based Recommendations:

• Encourage standardization of accessible material across universities and colleges (after 12th grade), with each course having mandatory guidelines to provide material in an accessible format (Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India).

• Guidelines must be made for open-source communities and tools to protect one’s information. Reading screen data, for instance, must be avoided as part of these guidelines (Privacy Principles).

• The standardization of infrastructure is of utmost importance to a few participants. Training institutions for the visually impaired, as well as streets near these institutes, must be made accessible while maintaining a certain standard across the country (Article 9 - Accessibility | Division for Inclusive Social Development (DISD)).

• Technical awareness must be taught to the visually impaired so that they can understand how to protect themselves from the data being sold in the market (Feng et al.).

• A participant also mentioned features similar to the Apple Vision Pro and other types of technologies that can benefit low vision individuals, in his opinion. The cost, however, was a greater issue (Sturm).

Policy Recommendations:

• Provide proper digital books and material in an accessible format for all disabled students after 12th grade, especially in STEM (Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India).

• Ensure that schools allow using mobiles and laptops so that assistive technology can be used by disabled students studying there (“AEM Center - National Center on Accessible Educational Materials at CAST”).

• Certain systems must be able to help the visually impaired protect themselves and their data from bad actors. A structure for consent must also be developed and integrated throughout the country (Accessibility in Privacy - Clarip Privacy Blog).

Conclusion

Assistive technology helps the VI community a lot, but its limitations must also be addressed. From the perspective of a few participants, there seemed to be more limitations to the technology than benefits. It was either that the benefits are bare minimum, or that the benefits were simply not discussed in great detail due to the respective participants focusing on limitations and prospective solutions. It was also observable that there are concerns about data privacy and online agreements, with participants often questioning the integrity of the former and the latter. One of the most unique problems that exists is the CAPTCHA problem, since on government websites, there are no audio CAPTCHAs. Similar to these, it was noticed that there were a few interviews whose perspectives were very different from others, despite them being of a similar demographic.

The discussions suggest that the cost of certain devices is the major issue when it comes to the limitations of accessing assistive tech. Amongst the few participants who chose to discuss this, one mentioned that there was no assistance using current tech for certain situations that they encountered while learning. However, they then suggested the use of Braille displays, but went on to mention that the cost was too high, despite their need being even higher. A few individuals also chose to speak about the fact that not all screen readers have the vocalization of math as a feature. They went on to advocate the standardization of such features. It is worth noting that this study was conducted amongst participants who were in urban areas and does not show how the adoption of AT would be affected by one's economic background. It will be interesting to explore how VI people with different economic backgrounds and access adopt the AT differently.

Only 10 interviews were considered for this research, of which two consisted of a limited demographic. This may create limitations in the universalization of the understanding of the AT.

The limited geographic demographics of the pool of participants may impact the efficacy of the paper: the majority of the participants are from the same state, and some even from the same city.

It is worth considering that three separate transcription softwares were used.  The reasons for this were purely financial. Hence, the free versions of certain transcription softwares were used.

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published in : Curieux academic journal