TIRUPATI: A simple question of why visually impaired students should depend on the convenience of others for their ability to write exams has grown into an ambitious deep technology startup that aims to transform handwriting into a tool for accessibility and learning.
Tirupati RTIH-based Vahini Technologies, founded by Malikarjun Rao Kosuri, is developing an intelligent smart pen that silently understands how people write, while writing on ordinary paper like a ballpoint pen.
Using miniature motion sensors and artificial intelligence, the pen captures writing speed, stroke movement, pen control, and subtle hesitations invisible to the human eye, turning handwriting into meaningful digital insights.
“The inspiration came from seeing visually impaired students struggling during exams,” recalls Mallikarjun.
“Many talented students still rely on scribes. Some struggle to find writers, and others face communication barriers. So I wondered: Could technology preserve the natural experience of writing while making it more independent and accessible?”
This journey began in May 2023. With no prior hardware experience, Malikarjun dove into researching digital pen technology.
Many solutions relied on special papers, but international research on sensor-based systems convinced him that a pen that worked on ordinary paper was possible.
“What looked like a simple pen turned out to be one of the most difficult engineering problems,” he says. “It required expertise in electronics, embedded systems, AI, mathematics, machine learning, and software engineering. Every milestone came after months of research, failure, and learning.”
This idea was further inspired by personal experience. His nephew Kesab Krishna frequently complained of pain in his hands after long hours of writing work while preparing for exams. Although he had academic ability, he had difficulty maintaining speed and consistency.
“Watching him struggle made me interested in handwriting itself,” says Mallikarjun.
