Student innovation to ease movement of PWDs – Daily Monitor

Innovation
Years after, a young lady of 21, when Gloria Nalujjumwa, was given an opportunity to come up with an innovation for her final year project, while pursuing her diploma in Computing at Uganda Technology and Management University (Utamu), she couldn’t think beyond a wheelchair that can be vocally controlled in the local dialect [Luganda].

“We choose to use ‘Sitopu’ because ‘Komaawo’ wasn’t working well with the coding. Once the user inputs these words into the microphone, the wheelchair will move accordingly. So, we have two programs; the speech programme and the one that controls the motors for movement,” Nalujjumwa adds.

A partnership
However, Nalujjumwa didn’t work alone. As a prerequisite for her project, she worked with her partner Jonathan Nyanga. While working on the innovation, the two would brainstorm ideas after which, Nyanga would work on building the hardware and Nalujjumwa the software and the coding to have the prototype.

“The biggest challenge has and still is the failure to get some of the right components in time, for example the specific microphones we want to use. We had to order for it outside Uganda because as far as we looked, we didn’t get it,” says Nyanga.
Easing access
Commenting on the innovation, Mpindi Bumali the chairman National Union of Disabled Persons in Uganda (NUDIPU) says that the innovation is definitely a step in the right direction when it comes to employing technology in PWDs, especially if it is cheaper and affordable because PWDs struggle with access.

Voice controlled wheelchairs are not a new phenomenon. However, what makes Nalujjumwa’s innovation stand out is the fact that the voice commands are in a local language which is familiar to many people. Additionally, the ability of the innovation to bring some automation to the ordinary manual wheel chair cannot be undermined.

About Nalujjumwa
She finished her primary education at Victorious Education Services. She then did her O -Level at Seeta High School, main campus before joining St. Lawrence Schools and Academy for her A Level education. She thereafter joined UTAMU to pursue a diploma in Computing and graduated in 2019.