Project: Possibility, a USC student-run nonprofit organization that strives to create free and accessible software for people with disabilities, has unveiled what happens when altruism and expertise come together.

Project: Possibility recently held its Semester Project to showcase the open-source software aimed at helping the disabled.

Software projects included universal closed-captioning for the Internet; a search engine specifically geared toward finding software for people with disabilities; word prediction software for people with limited mobility; gesture-recognition software for those who have difficulty using keyboard and mouse; and a mobile currency reader for the visually impaired.

Because Project: Possibility is an open-source organization, the finished software products will be made available online at http://www.projectpossibility.org. As a result, programmers around the world will be able to improve the products.

Earlier this year, 25 USC students split into five teams, each led by a professional engineer from Google, Amgen and NASA. The teams sought to expand on their achievements from “SS12, Code for a Cause,” last year’s competition in which the students had 24 hours to create useful technologies for the disabled.

With Project: Possibility, software engineers, programmers and system designers can use their unique skills to make life easier for the disabled, said Ely Lerner, a software developer at Amgen.

Lerner helped to create the online closed captioning for people with hearing impairments.

Christopher Leung, executive director and founder of Project: Possibility, said, “We were astounded by the positive feedback and industry interest. We knew we had hit on something significant, and we had to see what would result if students were given a longer period of time to work on the software.

“This program was a complete success,” he said. “We set out with high goals in mind, and though we didn’t always hit them, we identified what stopped us.”

Semester Project volunteer Stanley Lam said, “The vision and passion of those involved with Project: Possibility really affected me. I saw the excitement that Chris and his team had for this cause, and I wanted to be a part of that.”

Jacquelyn Leong, general manager of the Semester Project, said, “Hopefully we did our job of raising awareness about the disabled community while also helping USC students learn more about different technologies.

“I hope Project: Possibility will expand to other universities and beyond so more people will continue to give back to the community with their engineering skills.”