IBM’s Open Collaborative Research is working on ways to get mobile Internet to the aged and illiterate all over the world. The initial research is happening in Japan and India and will be used to plan future endeavors including open source platforms for information sharing. Japan was chosen because of its high number of older folks and India chosen because, despite recent impressive advances, many citizens are still illiterate.

The research will include creating new user interfaces that use images rather than text.

“This collaborative research programme will result in critical insights to the accessibility requirements of the elderly people with little or no education in developing nations,” IBM Research Director (India) and Chief Technologist (IBM India/South Asia) Manish Gupta said.

Generally I’m down on electronic solutions to problems of education. However, by giving some of the most important educators on the planet – grandparents and parents – more and better tools

via PCWorld