FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts: Arjuna Rao Chavala

IEEE 1908.1 Working Group Chair

+91 988 022 9373 (India)

arjunaraoc@ieee.org

IEEE 1908.1(TM) WORKING GROUP DEVELOPS TWO DRAFT VIRTUAL KEYBOARD LAYOUTS FOR HINDI

IEEE 1908.1 aims to enable use of Indian languages on smart phones and tablet computers through touch screen interface with little or no training

PISCATAWAY, N.J., USA, and BANGALORE, INDIA, 12 NOVEMBER 2013 - IEEE, the world's largest professional association advancing technology for humanity, today announced that IEEE 1908.1 ^TM - Virtual Keyboard Standard for Indic Languages Working Group (WG) has developed two drafts of Hindi virtual keyboards. The keyboard apps for Android are freely available for evaluation and feedback purpose.

Once the standard is developed and adopted, IEEE 1908.1 will make it possible for the first time to display Indian language characters dynamically on smart phones and tablet computers, which is expected to lead to the increased usage of Indian languages."

"The working group started its work in January 2012 and had evinced interest from over 191 people from across the world till date. It held online monthly phone conferences with participants from across the world, which had a peak participation of 71 members. After understanding and assessing the available keyboards, the group decided to focus its energy on Hindi keyboard with alphabetical ordering of layout, while combining the advantages of Inscript and phonetic layouts. The key assignment was optimized by using vowels double up as vowel combiners when preceded by consonants as is common with phonetic keyboards," said Arjuna Rao Chavala, Chair of the IEEE 1908.1 Working Group.

"This is an important mile stone for the Working group. I thank all the participants, IEEE Communications Society Standards development board, IEEE-SA India SIG and HQ Staff and IEEE India office for the support to the Working group. The feedback on the draft layouts from the potential users and workgroup members will help speed up future work,." said Mr. Chavala.

Additional information on the draft Keyboard layouts for Hindi is available at https://mentor.ieee.org/1908.1/bp/Draft_virtual_keyboard_proposals_for_Hindi

Feedback is requested before 11 Dec 2013, from the potential users and work group participants through an online survey form at

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1Wkg-lk-9jRWwGKwldfh26hSWiQ9ucqkUbzE6cRRvViY/viewform

Interested individuals who can devote sufficient time are invited to join or reactivate their membership in IEEE 1908.1 Working Group to contribute and help shape the initiative. If you have been a member, please email the chair about your interest to become active again. If you are new to this working group and are interested to participate in the working group, sign up by visiting the IEEE1908.1 Working Group page.

Sponsored by the IEEE Communications Society (ComSoc), the foremost international forum for the exchange of ideas on communications and information networking, IEEE 1908.1 is designed to involve different stakeholders on an equal footing.

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Date published: 12 Nov 2013