Arabic company receives international e-inclusion Award for Disabilities Software

Notes and media contacts

Sakhr Software Co.
Sakhr Software is a Kuwaiti Closed Shareholding Company with affiliates in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Egypt, and USA. The company was established in 1982, and has since developed cutting-edge technologies that have made a strong mark on the Arabic IT industry. The company pioneered a new generation of Arabic Natural Language Processing (NLP) technologies, and succeeded in overcoming the dominance of the English language over the Arabic IT industry and correcting the misconception that western developed solutions can be adapted to adequately meet the needs of Arab users.

In its dedication to provide Arab users with state-of-the-art intelligent solutions, Sakhr faced many difficult challenges that discouraged many other international and local players. These challenges included the lack of any government funding, which led Sakhr to embark on an ambitious research and development project involving over two million man-hours, entirely funded by private investment and fueled only by its firm belief in the value of the Arabic language for its individual, corporate and government clients.

For further information please contact
Yousef Gekhaev
Account Executive
Hill & Knowlton
Direct Line: +971 4 3344930 Ext. 648
Fax: +971 4 3344923

Tabeer
Telephone: (+9714) 266 5221,
Fax: (+9714) 266 4773

FACT SHEET

Ibsar - The Blind Users' Eye on Knowledge and e-Inclusion

Ibsar is a sophisticated text reading solution which puts the Internet and email world at the fingertips of the blind and visually impaired.
Using this solution, specifically designed for the blind and visually impaired, users can have access to the Internet and can easily read websites both in English and Arabic. Ibsar opens up vast new horizons for users by also allowing them to send, receive, write, read, and process emails. This solution further allows blind users to read books, documents and electronic files, in addition to writing in English and Arabic, saving documents and printing them in Braille without depending on third parties, thanks to Ibsar's ability to read everything visible on the screen by converting text into audible human voice. It is as if users can see for themselves.

Another benefit of Ibsar is that it acts as an educational training tool for new keyboard users by providing step-by-step guidance so that they can use the keyboard efficiently, and to enable them to be fully in control of the solution itself. Through learning these skills, «Ibsar» leads its blind and visually impaired users towards vast informational horizons, allowing them to equally prove their skill and competence as their sighted peers.

The following is a list of the most prominent independent and integrated applications which have been added to Ibsar achieving greater benefits for the blind:

1. Document Reader: A sophisticated program for reading books and documents with two integrated technologies: Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and Text to Speech (TTS). Using optical technologies to identify characters in scanned documents and transforming them into text. This technology makes use of automated speech to read Arabic and English texts in a clear and natural voice. The reader contains an easy to use document organizer, a bilingual dictionary and spell checker, as well as editing, search and retrieve capabilities, saving and printing documents using ordinary or Braille printers.

2. Learning & education: This program teaches novices how to use the keyboard, how to write letters, words and sentences, and the various tasks related to writing. The program contains four graduated levels to teach novices how to handle basic computer functions.
Some other distinctive technologies are used, such as natural language processing (NLP), diacritics, corrections, and the formation and pronunciation.

Below is a summary of the benefits of using the Ibsar system:

Users have the opportunity to train themselves on the use of the program, particularly important as blind users often wish to depend on themselves.

Preserves users' independence and privacy.

Assists blind and visually impaired users in the fields of education, culture and career development.

Operates on any ordinary personal computer, which allows for its use in the home, or office, or university; the program can be run on any Windows operating system.