IBM will research mobile access for the aged and illiterate

IBM is teaming with researchers in academic institutions in Japan and India to explore an open, common user interface for mobile devices that will make them easier for aged or illiterate people around the world to use.

The company is doing the research with the National Institute of Design (NID) in India and the Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology (RCAST) at the University of Tokyo, it said Tuesday. The findings of the research and any applications or technology developed will be released to the open-source community, said Nitendra Rajput, Open Collaborative Research lead at IBM Research India. IBM's Open Collaborative Research program aims to promote innovation through research collaboration between universities and industry. Working with the open-source community will help speed up the adoption of the technologies, and attract developers to build applications for the target populations, Rajput added. The research is focused on improving access to the mobile phone because of the affordability and proliferation of these devices, Rajput said. The researchers expect that the mobile phone rather than the PC will be the key device by which the aged and the illiterate will access IT because of its relative simplicity of use.