Hi all!

Found this on another list &thought you might want to check it out.

Happy New Year!!-Gary


---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Mon, 6 Jan 2003 09:54:16 -0700
From: Jim Rebman <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: VRUG Voice Controlled Remote Control

"'No-Touch' Typing for Disabled"
Wired News (12/25/02); Rebelo, Paulo

Programmers at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil have
produced a free adaptable software program that disabled people use to
operate computers and home automation systems. Once downloaded onto a
user's
computer, the Motrix program allows people to read, write, launch
applications, and navigate menus. Motrix can also be integrated with
home
automation systems so that disabled users can turn on and off
appliances
such as the TV or air conditioner, for example. Typing is achieved
letter-by-letter, with people using the "alpha," "tango," and "bravo"
type
of characters in the International Phonetic Alphabet, which is easier
to
distinguish in noisy environments. The system was especially developed
for
the 200,000 quadriplegics in Brazil, who often cannot afford expensive
imported programs. It uses free voice-recognition software and only
requires
a 133 MHz Pentium processor and the Windows operating system. Motrix
is an
enhanced version of Dosvox, which in turn was based on a text-editing
program developed by a blind computer science student, Marcelo
Pimentel
Pinheiro. Programmers at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro's
Electronic Computation Nucleus have been working on adaptable software
since
1994.
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,55539,00.html