Smart Email System for Visually Impaired

Abstract

In an increasingly digital world, email remains a pivotal medium for communication; however, its accessibility for visually impaired individuals continues to pose significant challenges. This presents a unified framework for a Voice-Based Email System tailored specifically for users with visual disabilities, integrating insights from recent advancements in speech recognition, natural language processing (NLP), and human-computer interaction. The proposed system aims to deliver a seamless, hands-free email experience by employing Speech-to-Text (STT) and Text-to-Speech (TTS) technologies,alongside Interactive Voice Response (IVR) mechanisms. To ensure intuitive user engagement, the system features context- aware prompts and real-time auditory feedback. It reduces reliance on visual navigation by offering structured voice-driven menus for composing, reading, and managing emails. Emphasis is placed on minimizing cognitive load, thereby enhancing usability for non-technical users. This approach not only improves digital accessibility but also promotes inclusive communication practices in modern technological ecosystems

Introduction

In the modern digital age, technology—especially AI and machine learning (ML)—has become integral to how we live and communicate. Voice-based human-computer interaction has gained momentum, particularly benefiting individuals with visual or physical impairments. However, mainstream voice assistants like Siri or Alexa, while helpful, lack the customization and contextual awareness needed for users with specific accessibility needs.

To address this, the project titled “Smart Voice Assistant with a Driven Voice-Based Email System for Visually Impaired” (V-MAILX) introduces a specialized voice-controlled email system. Its goal is to enable visually impaired users to independently manage emails using speech, without needing a keyboard or screen navigation.

Key Features and Innovations:

• Voice-Based Email Interaction: Users can compose, send, read, and delete emails using only their voice.

• Speech-to-Text (STT) and Text-to-Speech (TTS): These core components convert between audio and text, facilitating hands-free operation.

• Secure Authentication: Face recognition enables secure, touch-free login, enhancing usability for users who struggle with typing.

• Custom GUI: A simple, voice-guided interface provides real-time audio feedback and guidance on errors.

• Offline Capability: Utilizes lightweight AI models (e.g., TensorFlow Lite) for local processing, ensuring performance even without internet access.

• OCR Integration: Allows reading of image-based email content, broadening accessibility.

• Scalable Architecture: Modular design enables future upgrades like multi-language support, biometric login, and AI-powered email filtering.

Methodology and System Design:

• The system follows a modular architecture:

  1. Voice Input Handler captures user commands.

  2. STT Engine translates speech to text.

  3. Logic Controller processes intent (e.g., compose email).

  4. Email Manager interacts with servers using IMAP/SMTP.

  5. TTS Engine delivers spoken feedback.

  6. Error Handling Module provides corrective voice prompts.

• Functional Requirements include:

  • Accurate STT and TTS

  • Intuitive voice navigation

  • Secure access

  • Real-time error handling

• Non-Functional Requirements emphasize:

  • Low latency

  • High speech recognition accuracy

  • Robust offline support

Applications and Use Cases:

• Email Access for Visually Impaired: Empowers users to manage communication independently.

• Virtual Assistant Capabilities: Handles additional desktop tasks using voice.

• Secure Voice-Only Navigation: Ideal for those with limited keyboard access or memory.

• Educational and Professional Use: Aids students and professionals in managing work or study-related emails.

Results and Evaluation:

• Positive Outcomes:

  • Accurate voice recognition

  • Responsive interface

  • Effective facial authentication

  • Clear, helpful error handling

  • Simplified, inclusive user experience

• Challenges Identified in Literature:

  • Speech recognition accuracy in noisy environments

  • Limitations with accents and non-standard dialects

  • Need for improved NLP models and offline capabilities

Conclusion

The development of the \"Smart Voice Assistant with Voice-Based Email System for Visually Impaired\" showcases how technology can be purposefully adapted to address real-world accessibility challenges. Rather than offering a generic communication tool, this project focuses on enabling an inclusive, intuitive, and fully voice-driven email interface for users with visual impairments. The integration of speech technologies not only enhances usability but also supports greater autonomy in digital correspondence. Through user-centric design and careful implementation of STT and TTS, the system successfully minimizes reliance on visual interfaces. As accessibility remains a critical component of software development, this project paves the way for future enhancements, such as support for multiple languages, improved voice recognition accuracy, and integration with other assistive technologies to broaden its impact across diverse user groups.

References

[1] P. Kunekar, A. Deshmukh, S. Gajalwad, A. Bichare, K. Gunjal, and S. Hingade, “AI–Based Desktop Voice Assistant,” 2023. [2] T. S. Roy, N. Namratha, and T. Y. J. N. Malleswari, “Voice E-Mail Synced with Gmail for Visually Impaired,” 2023. [3] N. Patel, T. Landge, R. Tiwari, A. Verma, and S. Pathan, “Desktop Voice Assistant,” Issue 04, 2020. [4] H. Tyagi, V. Kumar, P. Mishra, and G. Agarwal, “Speech Recognition Intelligence System for Desktop Voice Assistant using AI,” Jan. 2023. [5] M. J. Baker, E. M. Nightingale, and S. Bills, “An Editing Process for Blind or Visually Impaired Editors,” Sep. 2023. [6] C. Yan, G. Zhang, X. Ji, T. Zhang, T. Zhang, and W. Xu, “The Feasibility of Injecting Inaudible Voice Commands to Voice Assistants,” IEEE, Jun. 2021. [7] V. Iyer, K. Shah, S. Sheth, and K. Devadkar, “Virtual Assistant for the Visually Impaired,” 2023. [8] T. S. Roy, N. Namratha, and T. Y. J. N. Malleswari, “Voice E-Mail Synced with Gmail for Visually Impaired,” (Extended Observation), 2023. [9] P. Haghighat, T. Nguyen, M. Valizadeh, M. Arvan, N. Parde, M. Kim, and H. Jeong, “Effects of an Intelligent Virtual Assistant on Office Task Performance and Workload in a Noisy Environment,” 2023. [10] G. Krishnan and N. Sakthivel, “Artificial Intelligence Based News Aggregator,” 2023. [11] V. Titarmare, M. Wanjari, and P. H. Chandankhede, “Zira Voice Assistant - A Personalized Interactive Desktop Application,” 2023. [12] P. Kunekar, A. Deshmukh, S. Gajalwad, A. Bichare, K. Gunjal, and S. Hingade, “AI-Based Desktop Voice Assistant,” (Duplicate reference), 2023. [13] N. Umapathi, G. Karthick, N. Venkateswaran, R. Jegadeesan, and D. Srinivas, “Desktop\'s Virtual Assistant Using Python,” 2023. [14] G. Agrawal, H. Gupta, D. Jain, C. Jain, and R. Jain, “Desktop Voice Assistant,” 2023. [15] Thorbole, A. Pandit, G. Raut, and T. Sirsat, “AI-Based Desktop Voice Assistant,” 2023. [16] M. S. Salunke and A. S. Rathi, “Voice Controlled Email Application for the Blind,” Int. J. Sci. Res. Comput. Sci. Eng. Inf. Technol., vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 102 105, 2018. [17] R. Swarnkar, “Voice Based Email System for Visually Impaired,” Int. J. Sci. Res., vol. 7, no. 4, pp. 650–653, 2018. [18] A.Pal and R. Sahu, “Voice Controlled E-Mail Application,” Int. J. Eng. Sci., vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 1–4, 2017. [19] J. Krzysztof, “Natural Language Processing for Human-Computer Interaction,” J. Comput. Intell. Syst., vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 45–50, 2021. [20] S. Puri and M. Sharma, “Development of a Text-to Speech System for Indian Languages,” Int. J. Comput. Appl., vol. 40, no. 5, pp. 17–23, 2012.

Copyright

Copyright © 2025 Ms. Jaya Pattenshatti, Ms. Farhanaz Sayyed, Ms. Mahek Sanglikar, Ms. Shafakhat Kazi, Ms. Soumya Pujar . This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.