R & D is working as an associate body of the Kerala Blind Association (KBA). It aims at promoting research and development activities for the upliftment of the life style of physically challenged people. Also, it focuses on the development of products, services and technologies which offers a better quality of life for them. R & D encourages novel ideas, inventions, and technological interventions which are useful for specially abled people. It intends to provide the necessary guidelines and all sorts of technical support to those who are coming forward for the development of equipment and products which will be good for physically challenged. R & D also offers support to those who face financial difficulties in developing such Importance.

Kerala Blind Association (KBA) is the first association in Kerala which introducing the research and development Centre for specially abled people. These people are facing a lot of problems in their daily life related to mobility and orientation in an unknown environment. Often they have to seek the help of others to compete with their physical restrictions. Persons with disabilities have equal rights to lead a better quality of life like others. A lot of associations, institutions and service centers in Kerala are there for helping the disabled people, but none of them provides any kind of assistance to develop equipments or products useful to such people. This is the context where R & D Centre introduced by KBA gains importance. The R & D accepts all sorts of new ideas and innovative thoughts, discuss and analyze the possibilities of those, and do intensive researches and investigative studies of them. For those having ideas, innovations, and products for helping the specially abled people will get the best opportunity to introduce into the society by this center. Being this venture working as a part of the KBA, there are options for understanding the necessities of physically challenged people and able to effectively utilize it while developing the products for them. R & D will take the overall responsibility to bring out these deserved products before Government and all associated bodies for making them exclusive.

The Main Objectives Of R & D Are As Follows :

• R & D receives ideas to develop equipment and products helpful for differently abled persons.
• It undertakes research and technical studies related to the development of such equipments and products.
• It communicates with specially abled people, do questionnaires and surveys and work closely with health care professionals to develop useful, safe and simple products for them.
• It helps to gain attention and assistance from Government level in such initiations and ideas useful for specially disabled ones.
• It develops the human resources needed for the management and production of equipment and products on demand.
• It develops models, prototypes, conduct studies and researches and evaluate the scope of such products.
• It encourages the researches, studies, and development of all types of products for them and promotes to gain acceptance.
• It provides special concern and all kinds of help for the students from the engineering field, participants of Science fairs and congresses etc. for their ideas in developing innovative products and technological interventions specifically for specially abled people.
• It will take the responsibility of the production of such equipment which is useful to disabled persons.
• R& D gives higher priority for the production and marketing of these product to keep in cost affordable for common man.