Although voice assistants like Siri have certainly made it easier for the visually impaired to navigate the iPhone, it seems that new software out of Georgia Tech College of Computing looks to take accessibility to the next level. BrailleTouch is a prototype application that uses traditional Braille input on the iPhone’s touchscreen, allowing people to type up to 32 words per minute with up to 92 percent accuracy.
So how does Braille work on an iPhone? The screen is held facing away from the user and six large dots appear on the screen in landscape mode, these can auto-rotate so it doesn’t really matter 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 letters you type, helping to further ensure proper spelling and input.
This is an interesting concept and if it proves to work out efficiently, it could certainly change the way visually impaired users navigate tablets, phones, and potentially even touchscreen computers.
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