TJ Students Develop Tool Helping People With Disabilities More Easily Use Computers

ALEXANDRIA, VA — A new artificial intelligence app provides an easier way for people with disabilities to use computers. But it's not the work of a big tech company.

Instead, it's being led by students at Fairfax County's Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology.

Dhanvin Ganeshkumar, a rising junior from Chantilly, co-founded Swype AI with fellow TJ student Zoeb Izzi. Through an app available on smartphones, Swype AI allows people to use various hand gestures and voice commands to perform commands on a computer.

Ganeshkumar says the app can help people who struggle with computer use due to physical conditions. It was inspired by his grandparents, whose computer use was difficult due to tremors.

"Swype was really built out of a personal connection growing up watching my relatives struggle to use their computers, and this was due to their impairments, which made basic digital tasks almost impossible for them," Ganeshkumar told Patch. "And so when I did try looking for existing solutions, I realized that A. they were either too expensive, costing upwards of thousands of dollars … or B. they were limited to outdated software."

The student decided to develop something using technology many people have today: Smartphones. What started as a personal project became a mission to help many more people.

"After building out the first version of the product and seeing the tool actually help my grandparents navigate their screens more easily for the first time, it really opened my eyes," said Ganeshkumar. "It really gave me this moment of realization that this tool could transform the lives of millions of others who also faced motor disabilities, and especially for those in underdeveloped communities who don't have access to this type of expensive equipment."

To use Swype AI, users must download the mobile app and follow the instructions to connect it to their computer. Users will then use their choice of 30 action combinations, as well as voice commands, to trigger actions like opening apps, typing, dragging files and scrolling.

For those needing more support, there is an AI assistant to provide on-screen guidance.

Swype AI's developers spoke with 15 accessibility organizations when developing the app to know how users struggle with technology. His mentor, Jen McDonald-Peltier of the Center for Accessible Technology, has also provided support.

"We realized that most existing technology aren't designed to accommodate the full spectrum of motor disability," he said. "For example, conditions like Parkinson's may allow fine movements in specific fingers, while others, like muscular dystrophy, might only permit broader, slower movements. And even in more severe cases, users cannot move their hands at all. And so that insight really pushed us to make Swype AI as flexible and customizable as possible, so to allow users to complete everyday digital tasks naturally and hands free."

The app is also in the process of beta testing. Ganeshkumar says the goal is to launch the product to the public in August or September.

Ganeshkumar and the team has presented and done app demonstrations at prestigious conferences like the Harvard Global Health & Leadership Conference, MIT URTC, Johns Hopkins Global Health Leaders Conference, International Annual Patient Conference and the Penn Foundation. Thousands of people have tested Swype AI at these conferences.

As Swype AI prepares to launch to a wider audience, it has won recognition like Best AI Hack at Google Boost Hack II and a $2,500 runner-up prize at the competitive SXSW Student Impact Challenge for student entrepreneurs.

"Hearing our name being called, I was incredibly grateful. It really validated all the late nights my team and I poured into Swype AI and really, more importantly, it showed that there's real excitement around making technology accessible to everyone," said Ganeshkumar.

Ganeshkumar says the goal of Swype AI isn't to make a profit. Instead, the student developers hope the concept gets acquired by a large tech company, allowing it to share the product with users around the world.

On the technological side, Ganeshkumar says basic programming skills he learned in school and his interest in computer science and deep learning AI helped develop the app. That includes the rising junior's time at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, which is often ranked among the top high schools in the nation.

"Something I take pride in about the school is that I was able to really surround myself with people who inspire me to do my best and push myself," said Ganeshkumar. "It makes such a difference when you're around people who believe in your vision and push yourself to grow. And being surrounded by all these like smart, smart and successful individuals has really pushed me, to do more and really make the use of my time in the school. TJ itself has a lot of labs, especially in computer systems and all these advanced AI classes, like computer vision, artificial intelligence, mobile and web development."

Along with developing Swype AI, Ganeshkumar does research at several higher education institutions and is a top 50 finalist of the Chegg.org Global Student Prize. At Harvard Ophthalmology AI Lab, he is developing real-time surgical video segmentation tools to improve eye care in low-resource areas.

His work at Stanford focuses on building AI-focused ultrasound systems for noninvasive brain therapy.

At MIT, Ganeshkumar is working to improve efficiency of 3D tools like surgical tools. He is also a youth leader for the Harvard Global Vision Challenge and an associate at the International Research Olympiad, leading global STEM outreach in more than 89 countries.

"Working at all these institutions has really taught me, like the core fundamentals and technologies to build these types of products, like Swype AI, and I really say that was a steppingstone from school," said Ganeshkumar. "Being able to explore these passions and interests really gave me the framework and technologies that I've used now used for Swype."

Ganeshkumar is considering biomedical engineering or global health advocacy as possible fields of study after high school. The high schooler may be working on complex projects, but his goals are simple: finding solutions for global health equity and inspiring other teens to use their skills to make a change in the world.

"Now as teenagers is the time to put yourself out there and bring out your innovation to the entire world," he said.

To learn more about Swype AI, visit swypeai.tech.

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