February 17, 2012
Via Kevin C. Tofel of GigaOm comes word on an innovative new mobile app aimed at making technology much more accessible for the vision impaired:
Here’s how it works. The phone is actually held with the screen facing away from the user. Six large dots appear on the touchscreen in landscape mode, which can auto-rotate, making it irrelevant how the device is held. Using the traditional Braille method, users tap the correct dots to form letters and words. The software can speak aloud the typed letters, helping to ensure proper spelling and input.
The app, which is still in prototype, is called BrailleTouch. It was developed by the Georgia Tech College of Computing. Very cool.