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Georgia Tech iPhone App Could Help Blind Users Text

Posted by samzenpus on from the text-time dept.

MojoKid writes "Researchers at Georgia Tech university have built a prototype app for touch-screen mobile devices that is vying to be a complete solution for texting without the need to look at a mobile gadget's screen. In theory, it should greatly help the blind interact with mobile phones, but it could help just about anyone looking for a more efficient way to interact. Research has shown that gesture-based texting is a viable solution for eyes-free written communication in the future, making obsolete the need for users to look at their devices while inputting text. The free open-source app, called BrailleTouch, incorporates the Braille writing system used by the visually impaired. Early studies with visually impaired participants proficient in Braille typing have demonstrated that users can input up to 32 words per minute with 92 percent accuracy with the prototype app for the iPhone."

6 of 60 comments (clear)

  1. Oh just great by geekoid · · Score: 5, Funny

    more people driving and texting~

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  2. Re:If only... by hcs_$reboot · · Score: 5, Funny

    Why don't you learn braille? It's much easier for you to learn braille, than for blind people to learn how to read a newspaper!

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  3. My blind friend by TheRedDuke · · Score: 4, Interesting

    uses an older flip phone with an old-fashioned dialing pad. He texts by sound and feel, and faster than I can on my keyboard-less smartphone. Oh, and he paid $100 less for his phone and $20 less per month thanks to the fact that he doesn't NEED an iPhone or a data plan. While I feel like the research might have its heart in the right place, a much simpler solution appears to already exist.

    1. Re:My blind friend by ozmanjusri · · Score: 5, Funny
      Good point.

      Maybe somebody should write an app that lets the sender speak into the phone, and the receiver hear it immediately.

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      "I've got more toys than Teruhisa Kitahara."
  4. I'm not blind... by pongo000 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    ...and I can't even come close to 32wpm on my smartphone (I tend to fat-finger my letters and spend more time back-spacing or looking for auto-completed words than typing). I've tried all the various gimmicks such as Swype and T9, but if this system is really netting users 30+wpm, I think it's time for me to learn Braille.

  5. Just because it's an iPhone by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

    There are already several versions available on android.
    http://www.the-digital-reader.com/2011/10/18/new-app-turns-a-tablet-into-a-braille-keyboard/

    And specially this one:
    http://www.ankitdaf.com/projects/BrailleType/

    Georgia tech is basically ripping off this guy.