Israeli company develops smart phone for visually impaired

An Israeli firm has launched a smart phone that will help millions of visually impaired people with an easy-to-use navigation system, Xinhua learned from the company on Tuesday. "The user could touch any position on the screen and that position automatically becomes the starting point for selecting an audio-book, messaging or other activities. Navigation is enabled by a few simple finger gestures in different directions," Zilberman, CEO of Project Ray said in a press release. The device, called RAY smart phone, is developed by three Israelis, Michael Vakulenko, Boaz Zilberman and Arik Siegel, who had worked several years in Project Ray tasked with helping the visually impaired. According to the World Health Organization, 285 million people around the world are visually impaired, while 39 million of them are blind. The device can also react to voices and adapt to the habits of the users, which means repetitive actions, such as making a phone call, can be remembered and do not require a complex set of gestures. With 100 volunteers testing it, the smart phone proved to be a success in Israel last year. It is now being launched in the United States.