Twenty years ago, Pramit Bhargava, an alumnus of IIT-BHU and IIM-B, experienced a drug reaction that affected his retina. Over time, this led to a gradual loss of vision, reaching a point in 2012 where he could no longer read. This loss had a profound impact on Bhargava both mentally and physically, eroding his confidence and prompting self-doubt.
Feeling dependent on others due to a lack of accessible technology for the visually impaired, Bhargava, a former employee of Hindustan Unilever and Motorola, conceived the idea of an app to make popular apps usable through voice commands for the visually impaired. This idea gave birth to “Louie Voice Control,” a mobile app designed to act as a virtual friend, enabling interactions similar to those of sighted individuals in tasks like booking cabs or sending WhatsApp messages.
Initially facing challenges in recruiting developers, Bhargava secured funding from Sequoia Capital, allowing him to assemble a team of 14, including three visually impaired developers involved in testing and user experience. The app, ‘Louie Voice Control,’ is part of a broader initiative to enhance tech accessibility for people with disabilities.
Bhargava emphasizes that Louie goes beyond existing voice assistants like Google Assistant, Siri, or Alexa, which cater primarily to sighted users. Unlike these assistants, Louie aims for complete 100% support within voice-enabled apps, such as handling entire booking processes for services like Uber.
While acknowledging the core technology’s in-house development, Bhargava mentions that some supporting technologies come from Google, such as speech-to-text conversion. The app, designed for blind, visually impaired individuals, and the elderly, currently supports various apps like Uber, WhatsApp, and YouTube.
In terms of accessibility efforts, major tech companies like Apple, Google, and Microsoft have been making strides, introducing features and products aimed at facilitating use for individuals with disabilities. Bhargava sees tremendous potential for accessibility tech growth in India, where the core solution lies in technology and its dissemination.
As the Louie app is currently in the beta stage and available for free on the Google Play Store, Bhargava is considering affordable pricing options for India, potentially partnering with organizations to provide free licenses. The goal is to make this transformative technology accessible to a broader segment of the population.
