Giving vision through a touchscreen
Recently, I found myself browsing the app store for an app that could potentially improve my dental hygiene and to no one’s surprise, I found exactly what I was looking for-Toothbrush fitness, an app that gives detailed 3D demonstrations of the most effective ways to brush your teeth, how much time you should spend doing it and daily dental tips.This had me feeling a mix of emotions-slightly scared at my dependance on apps (“Am I too dependent on apps?”, I wrote on my Google Docs app), hugely awed at the creations that software developers come up with, but these emotions were trumped by a large feeling of gratefulness. Above all else, apps exist to make our lives easier-Social media apps to network with new acquaintances and communicate with old ones, fitness apps to keep our workout routines in check, mindfulness apps to cope with feelings of anxiety and stress, note-taking apps to jot down our ideas, and so on and so forth. It is common knowledge that the assistive technology sector throws up a great many ingenious inventions to help the disabled, everyday and apps are no exception. Here’s a list of wonderful apps that are making the visually impaired lives’ a little better.
Be My Eyes
Be My Eyes is the result of a combination of ingenuity and passion for a social cause. This handy app connects people who are blind or have low vision, with a global community of volunteers who are ready at a moment’s notice to “lend their eyesight” for everyday tasks. It is a support community that is available globally day or night. Their volunteer count recently hit the 3 million mark. According to their page on the app store, some of its popular uses are reading home appliances, product labels, matching outfits and identifying clothes and help in the kitchen. There are many additional features in the app, including an option for on-demand video customer support from professionals at any of Be My Eyes’ partner companies. Be My Eyes has been the recipient of many awards including the 2020 Dubai Expo Global Innovator, the winner of “Best Accessibility Experience” in the 2018 Google Play Awards, and the winner of the Dr. Jacob Bolotin Awards at the NFB National Convention in 2018.
A blind legend
A blind legend is the world’s first-ever mobile action-adventure game without video. It uses binaural sound-a 3-D stereo sound sensation for the listener, to provide an immersive experience for the player. In this heroic-fantasy game, the user plays as a famous blind knight-Edward Blake, who is being guided by his daughter Louise. This game requires the user to use their smartphone’s touch screen like a joystick, to move around, fight and defend themselves as they encounter traps and enemies in the “High Castle Kingdom”. With a rating of 7 / 10 on Steam, a global leader for playing, discussing, and creating games and a 4.2 / 5 on the iOS app store, A blind legend is clearly a popular choice among both sighted and visually impaired people. Its popularity can be owed to the way it innovatively harnesses tech, and the seamless controls.
Facing Emotions
Developed by Chinese tech giant Huawei, Facing Emotions gives a chance for visually impaired people to have a richer experience when communicating with others. Harnessing AI, it translates the 7 key emotions detected on the human face into 7 unique sounds. Using the back cameras, the application scans the face of the person with whom the blind person is talking, and identifies elements of the face like their eyes, nose, brows and mouth and their position in relation to each other. The sounds corresponding to each emotion were created by blind composer Tomasz Bilecki. The sounds are simple and concise, so that they won’t feel invasive in a conversation between two people. As visually-impaired people often need to use their hands to hold a cane or leashes of guide dogs, it’s pertinent that they can use the app hands-free. Keeping this in mind, Warsaw-based product designer Janek Kochanski developed a 3D-printed phone holder that is worn around the neck.
