App To Help Blind Text

Published on February 21, 2012 by The Editor · No Comments

The Wowster on an app to help blind people text

An app has been created to help blind people text using touchscreen devices.

The app developed at Georgia Tech will be available for iPhone and android devices.

Using a braille writing system, it is claimed that the app makes it up to six times faster for people without sight to text.

Currently the only option for blind people is voiceover systems such as Apple’s but they are too slow and clunky.

Brailletouch will be released in the next few weeks and only needs six fingers. An important aspect is that it does not need the user to move their hands.

“Users who know how to type Braille well never move their hands,” explained Mario Romero, lead researcher on the project.

“When users hold the phone they hold the phone with the screen facing away from them in landscape mode.

“They wrap the index, middle and ring finger in each hand around the phone.

“It’s not like the Qwerty keyboard where you move up and down.”

The app will be open source and free and it is thought it could also help sighted people text a lot quicker.

The Wowster is the pen name of Nathan Goldberg, wowdewow publisher and founder.

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