Isinkwe
Innovative Products and Technologies
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Summary of the technology
The CSIR has developed software to help the publishing industry serve a market that was often overlooked in the past.
This market faces barriers to reading due to visual impairment, dyslexia, low literacy and other special educational needs. The software breaks down these barriers by adding audio to publications and synchronising it with the text. It not only unlocks a new way of reading through listening, but also provides further assistance through audio navigation and visual highlighting of the synchronised text and audio. The product is called iSinkwe, which is the isiZulu name for a bush baby, an animal known for its big eyes and ears. This symbolises how the software empowers the eyes and ears of aspiring readers.
Isinkwe is packaged as three subproducts that revolve around the EPUB 3 publishing standard: the converter, augmenter and reader. The converter converts ebooks in other file formats, such as DOCX and PDF, to EPUB 3. The augmenter uses the CSIR’s Qfrency text-to-speech technology to synchronise the text and audio of EPUB 3 ebooks in any of the 11 official South African languages. The audio can be human-narrated by a voice artist or computer-synthesised by Qfrency. The reader reads the synchronised EPUB 3 ebooks, with options to play back and navigate through the audio, as well as highlight the text as the audio is played.
“We are targeting the local market initially, since our human language technology expertise currently lies in the context of the South African languages. However, the knowledge, skills and technologies are scalable to any language and, therefore, show great potential to expand the offering into African and underserved global markets,” says CSIR senior engineer Dr Georg Schlünz.
Technology Field
Publishing industry
Business Opportunity
This market faces barriers to reading due to visual impairment, dyslexia, low literacy and other special educational needs. The software breaks down these barriers by adding audio to publications and synchronising it with the text. It not only unlocks a new way of reading through listening, but also provides further assistance through audio navigation and visual highlighting of the synchronised text and audio.
Technology Description
Isinkwe is packaged as three subproducts that revolve around the EPUB 3 publishing standard: the converter, augmenter and reader. The converter converts ebooks in other file formats, such as DOCX and PDF, to EPUB 3. The augmenter uses the CSIR’s Qfrency text-to-speech technology to synchronise the text and audio of EPUB 3 ebooks in any of the 11 official South African languages.
Benefits & Advantages
It not only unlocks a new way of reading through listening, but also provides further assistance through audio navigation and visual highlighting of the synchronised text and audio.
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About CSIR
The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, commonly known as the CSIR, is a world-class African research and development organisation established through an Act of Parliament in 1945. The CSIR undertakes directed, multidisciplinary research and technological innovation that contributes to the improved quality of life of South Africans.
The CSIR’s shareholder is the South African Parliament, held in proxy by the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation.
CSIR vision
We are accelerators of socio-economic prosperity in South Africa through leading innovation.
CSIR mission
Collaboratively innovating and localising technologies while providing knowledge solutions for the inclusive and sustainable advancement of industry and society.
CSIR values
CSIR values statement:
Our beliefs, principles and the impact we wish to make to improve the quality of life of South Africans are EPIC. Team CSIR pursues Excellence, celebrates People, personifies Integrity, and welcomes Collaboration.
Our mandate
“The objects of the CSIR are, through directed and particularly multi-disciplinary research and technological innovation, to foster, in the national interest and in fields which in its opinion should receive preference, industrial and scientific development, either by itself or in co-operation with principals from the private or public sectors, and thereby to contribute to the improvement of the quality of life of the people of the Republic, and to perform any other functions that may be assigned to the CSIR by or under this Act.”
(Scientific Research Council Act 46 of 1988, amended by Act 71 of 1990)
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