<\/p>\n
Dhanvin Ganeshkumar on his computer. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Courtesy Photo<\/p>\n
Growing up, Dhanvin Ganeshkumar remembers watching his grandparents struggle to use a computer. They had physical tremors, which made even the most basic digital tasks almost impossible for them. His hope to find a solution to their struggle is one of the reasons that he teamed up with Zoeb Izzi, and they created Swype AI, a hands-free computing app that helps people with motor disabilities. \u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I did try looking for existing solutions, I realized that they were either A,\u00a0 too expensive, costing upwards of thousands of dollars with fancy hardware, or\u00a0 B, limited to outdated software,\u201d said Ganeshkumar. \u00a0<\/p>\n
The Thomas Jefferson student, who is about to start his junior year, decided he wanted to create something affordable using technology that almost everyone already has in their pockets, a smartphone camera. \u00a0<\/p>\n
The original model for Swype AI helped his grandparents navigate their screens more easily. Ganeshkumar realized the tool could transform the lives of millions of other people who struggle with motor disabilities, especially those in underdeveloped communities who don\u2019t have access to expensive equipment. \u00a0<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Swype AI co-founders Zoeb Izzi on the left and Dhanvin Ganeshkumar on the right.<\/p>\n
Courtesy Photo<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce it\u2019s set up, you can simply wave your hand or speak a command, and\u00a0 Swype AI takes care of the rest,\u201d said Ganeshkumar. \u201cWe\u2019ve made it as simple\u00a0 and seamless for the everyday uses that people need.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n
Ganeshkumar first became interested in healthcare disparities when he had a detached retina in the eighth grade. Doctors told his family he needed surgery.\u00a0 His mother began calling ophthalmologists, but no one was willing to perform the surgery on him because he was young and this type of surgery was normally performed on older people. His mother phoned 10 surgeons before she found one who would operate. \u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was at that moment that opened my eyes to global health equity,\u201d said\u00a0 Ganeshkumar. \u201cI started asking what if someone in my place didn\u2019t get that doctor\u2019s visit? What if no one answered that test call?\u201d He said the question stayed with him and he started to realize that many people face the same barrier to care because they don\u2019t have the right resources. \u00a0<\/p>\n
His experience with the eye surgery was another component of his research into digital inequity. \u00a0<\/p>\n
To make Swype AI more usable, Ganehskumar has spoken with over 15\u00a0 accessibility organizations, including the Parkinson\u2019s Foundation and the\u00a0 National Multiple Sclerosis Society, to understand user needs better and refine how it can work for people with ALS, cerebral palsy, and other tremor-related impairments. That research led him to Jen McDonald-Peltier at the Center for\u00a0 Accessible Technology, who has been an invaluable mentor. \u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI learned that this motor disability, as a whole, comes from various conditions;\u00a0 some conditions may allow fine movements and specific fingers, while others can only permit broader, slower motions. In the most severe cases, users cannot move their hands at all,\u201d said Ganeshkumar. \u00a0<\/p>\n
The research led to more ways to accommodate more users. Swype AI currently incorporates 30 different physical combinations. These can be anything from a static pose like the thumbs-up sign to dynamic motions like waving multiple fingers. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Each gesture is then customized to trigger a specific action like clicking, scrolling,\u00a0 opening apps, or dragging files. For individuals who can\u2019t move their hands,\u00a0 Swype AI has added Open Voice OS, which allows users to control their devices entirely through speech. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Ganeshkumar said the app has received a lot of attention. It was selected from a highly competitive field of high school teams to win $2,500 in the SXSW\u00a0 Student Impact Challenge. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Ganeshkumar is also a top 50 finalist for the 2025 Chegg Global Student Prize Challenge. The winner will be selected later in the year. He has been invited to present at the MIT AI & Education Summit, the Harvard Global Health & Leadership Conference, the Johns Hopkins Global Health Leaders Conference, and more. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Swype AI is currently undergoing independent beta testing. The goal is to release the app later this year. If you, or someone you know, could benefit from Swype\u00a0 AI, you can learn more at swypeai.tech.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dhanvin Ganeshkumar on his computer. \u00a0 Courtesy Photo Growing up, Dhanvin Ganeshkumar remembers watching his grandparents struggle to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":36605,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[4955,64,63,257,33085,105],"class_list":{"0":"post-36604","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-computing","8":"tag-articles","9":"tag-au","10":"tag-australia","11":"tag-computing","12":"tag-positive_vibes","13":"tag-technology"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36604","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36604"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36604\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36605"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36604"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36604"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36604"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}