A student has created a software programme that promises to create more jobs for those with mobility problems by allowing them to answer phone calls through the computer rather than from a standard telephone set.

Jader Pelligra, 21, a student at the Malta College for Arts Science and Technology (Mcast), created the eye-tracking software on a Windows operating system. In layperson’s terms, the software is a replacement for the standard PABX system.

The programme does what the PABX normally does, including answering calls, hanging up, recording, playing music, transferring calls and putting calls on hold.

The novelty of the software is that all this can be carried out by those who are physically challenged.

“It is compatible with screen readers and can also be used by the blind,” Mr Pelligra told The Sunday Times of Malta.

By using their Microsoft-Windows-based computer to handle voice-based communication and doing away with inaccessible phone handsets, users can now fulfil many clerical job requirements.

Last week, Mr Pelligra donated the software’s source code to the Foundation for IT Accessibility (FITA) and will continue support for the project from a distance.

FITA annually channels ICT project requests to educational entities. A project is added to the list when it identifies a gap between the abilities of disabled persons and what they wish to achieve.

The PC telephony project proposal was first circulated back in 2013, targeting mainly university and Mcast students. Mr Pelligra started exploring different hardware solutions and developed the user interface software from scratch.

A first batch of foreign-sourced hardware proved defective and had to be returned, but with new hardware, the project went smoothly.

Mr Pelligra said he had donated the software so that the necessary improvements would be made.