How Smartphone Apps are Changing Things for the Visually Impaired

Smartphone technology is opening up so many possibilities for visually impaired people. There are now many smartphone applications available that help make life easier and more enjoyable for these people. I am going to touch on a few of these apps and their importance jobs.

Apple is responsible for developing the screen-reader app VoiceOver. This app helps visually impaired people by changing the way the iPhone is operated. Instead of precise taps and clicks, users can swipe around the screen and have it described audibly, and can flick from app to app with ease.1 Android makes a similar application called Talk Back.  

The KNFB Reader for iPhone allows users to snap photos of print and reads it out loud.2 This app also can translate the print into Braille when hooked up to a refreshable Braille display.2 Similarly LookTel Money Reader uses the camera to identify the denominations of paper money.1 Blio, a Google app, uses KNFB Reading technology to read books out loud.1

There are several exciting apps and devices in development to help the visually impaired. One of them is being made by the South Korean startup company, Dot, and consists of a device that is strapped to the wrist and uses magnets to translate smartphone text into a braille.3 There has also been talk about the development of a Braille smartphone.4

References:

1. Blass, Eileen. USA Today. 2013. Screen Readers for Blind Make Smartphones Easy to Use. Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2013/06/02/smartphone-accessibility-for-the-blind/2373611/

2. Reuters. 2014. New Smartphone App Gives 'Sight' to the Blind. In: Voice of America. Retrieved from http://www.voanews.com/content/reu-new-app-gives-sight-to-the-blind/2458313.html

3. Greenberg A (2015) This New Watch Lets Blind People Read Real-Time Smartphone Data in Braille. In: Time. Retrieved from http://time.com/3983375/smartwatch-blind-dot-braille/. 2015

4. Strauss, Karsten. 2013. Breakthrough Braille Smartphones For The Blind. In: Forbes. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/karstenstrauss/2013/04/24/breakthrough-braille-smartphones-for-the-blind/