Persons that are blind or partially-sighted will now be able to use a computer designed specifically to cater to their needs.
Dubbed the SAnote, the computer is the first of its kind to be manufactured locally and aims to address the marginalisation of persons that are visually-impaired.
According to the South African National Council for the Blind (SANCB), sight disability is the highest of all disabilities in SA at 32%, and women make up 57% of the total number of blind and partially sighted people.
Only between 5% to 10% of the total blind population is braille literate and approximately 80% of visually impaired persons in the country live in rural areas, reveal stats from the SANCB.
To provide a solution for blind and partially-sighted students and business people, various organisations worked together to develop the SAnote.
The SAnote is a fully-functional portable talking computer, which is designed and developed to include multilingual and user-friendly features, as well as software that is customisable to individual needs.
The SAnote looks like a standard qwerty keyboard and provides the user with feedback through synthesised speech in English, Afrikaans, Sepedi or Setswana.
Other features include the ability to browse the Internet, enhanced audio functionality for recording and playback, sending and receiving e-mails, an offline dictionary and access to Twitter.
"Availability of a locally manufactured device would have significant implications for blind and partially-sighted students and business people who are otherwise disadvantaged to learn, and/or participate in the country's economy," says a statement.
The SAnote was originally conceptualised in 2003 by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research in partnership with the Disabled Persons' Organisations and the office on the status of disabled persons within the presidency as part of the National Accessibility Programme.
The research and development initiative was supported by the Department of Science and Technology and the previous Department of Communications.
Over the years, various organisations and individuals in the blind community have contributed to the development of the SAnote through testing, advice and piloting.
The SAnote will be distributed by the SANCB and interested persons can contact the council on 012 452 3811.
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