Software

 

Below are links with short descriptions of software developed by Sao Mai. All of our software is free! We are a small non-profit organization and rely on your support to maintain, improve, develop new assistive products, and provide support services for the blind. Please read our letter of appeal to learn how you can help us.

To enable users from various countries to easily access our software, we also seek assistance in translating them into different languages.

Please don't hesitate to get in touch with us for any feedback, suggestions, or cooperation!

Sao Mai Braille (SMB)

Documents can contain various types of content, and there is a real need for a high-quality and free, unified braille conversion solution - which is why the Sao Mai Braille (SMB) software was created.

In addition to being a rich-text and math editor, SMB is also a professional braille translator, supporting the conversion of: literary text into more than 150 different language tables; mathematical and chemical content into various codes like Nemeth and UEB; tactile graphics; and music following the New International Music and Music Braille Code standards.

Visit Sao Mai Braille's main page for more info.

SM-BungSang

The SM-BungSang is a Braille music translation software component, a versatile tool that supports over a hundred transcription options. This software engine delivers very high-quality Braille music scores. We offer SM-BungSang as a software library to integrate into your application across various platforms.

Learn more about the SM-BungSang Braille music translation software library.

SM Music Reader

The first free and fully accessible Android + iOS app designed to support both sighted and visually impaired individuals in reading music scores! SM Music Reader offers unique features, including drawing, playing MIDI sound, speaking, and Braille music translation. Our aim is to bridge the gap between the sighted and the blind, enabling them to read the same music scores simultaneously. Visually impaired users can access thousands of free music scores from our library. Additionally, the app includes useful music tools such as a guitar tuner, a metronome, and an optical music recognition engine.

Read more on SM Music Reader's main page.

Sao Mai Typing Tutor (SMTT)

A free computer keyboard typing learning and practice application designed for beginners. It has a user-friendly interface supporting both sighted and blind users, making it easy to manage and create new exercises. The application includes tools for monitoring users' learning and practicing progress. For more information, please visit the Sao Mai Typing Tutor page.

Sao Mai VNVoice

The first Vietnamese SAPI-5 speech engine for Windows, built with two female voices, Minh Du and Mai Dung, has been used by visually impaired users in Vietnam for years. It was truly a groundbreaking technological solution that enabled Vietnamese blind individuals to access computers as far back as 2002. For more information and to download, please visit Sao Mai VNVoice page.

SM Braille Viewer

A simple Android app designed to handle Braille translation and connect seamlessly with a Braille display to show the results. The app supports the opening and translation of various popular text file types, including TXT, RTF, DOCX, HTML, PDF, and EPUB. It also handles the direct sending of Braille-ready files such as BRF and BRL to the Braille display. Additionally, the app functions as an engine to receive text from third-party applications, translating it into Braille and displaying the results on the Braille display.

Learn more about SM Braille Viewer app.

Burmese Text-To-Speech Engine for Myanmar

This project was implemented and has been coordinated by the Sao Mai Center for the Blind, with the implementing collaboration with the Myanmar Assistive Technology Research and Development Center. The project is sponsored by The International Council for Education of People with Visual Impairment (ICEVI), Overbrook School for the Blind and The Nippon Foundation.

The Burmese TTS is developed for Android and Windows platforms, complying with Google TTS and Microsoft SAPI standards so all screen reading software should support and read Burmese documents. The TTS also has feature to let users configure the second voice to read text written in other languages than the Burmese default one like English and Parli.

It's the first fully usable text-to-speech engine to work with screen reading software for the blind in Myanmar.

DoudouLinux - An Educational Game System for Kids

In 2014 Sao Mai Center, with Sao Mai Education Fund and Mantovan Association of Bolzano, Italy, outlined a new project to benefit Vietnamese children. The project consists in the Vietnamese translation and localization of software for children to develop their cognitive, motor and social skills. The product is called DoudouLinux and is already available for download in more than 40 languages.

NVDA: Vietnamese Screen Reading Software

NVDA is a free and open source screen reader program for Windows, developed by the NV Access and its community. Since the early development period of NVDA, Sao Mai has been working closely with NV Access to develop add-ons and localize NVDA into Vietnamese.

In 2018, we worked with NV Access to translate their training modules with NVDA into Vietnamese, including the NVDA basics, Microsoft Office with NVDA (Word, Excel and more to come). With the hope to have a productive and supportive NVDA user community in Vietnam, Sao Mai has published one official website at www.nvda.vn. We are looking forward to more and more visually impaired users to join!

Other Sao Mai Soft (no more development)

Since our establishment in 2001, we developed some other applications designed intentionally for blind users in Vietnam. They are all free. Most of them are and standalone talking applications such as DictTalk (a dictionary based on Dict standard), CalTalk (quite similar to calculator devices which are accepted to use at schools in Vietnam), EditTalk (word processor), NetTalk (a web browser) and WinTalk (a basic screen reading software).

Due to different reasons in the past like with limited finance support, we could not continue further development and they are mostly out of date with today technologies. However, we are quite happy for such products as they were somehow among the helpful tools for the blind for few years in the past.

Other Useful Software

Our tech team has compiled a list of accessible third-party software with instruction articles which you can find on this page. Besides, please don't forget to check our Sao Mai Blog for more posts on different technology topics!