In our last blog we discovered three applications that can change the lives drastically for people living with disability. As technology advances so do to the opportunities for applications to cater to the needs of these people. Today we are featuring three technologies that really impressed with their ingenuity and their potential applications.
Refreshable Braille Displays.
These disaplys utilise electromechanically controlled pins, a contrast to the traditional lights used in a computer monitor. This software interprets what it is seeing on a website and converts this into a digital representation through cells lined up side by side. Each cell has 6-8 rounded pins which can extend and retract to represent a braille character.
MIT's Finger Mounted Reading Device
Last year MIT created a device that is secured to a users' finger and assists them with reading printed text. The text can be interpreted from either an e-reader or a book with the user running their finger along the line of text. This is accomplished through the device giving voice prompts to help the user navigate where their finger needs to be on the page. As the user runs their finger along the text it is read aloud.
Barcode Readers
You've probably seen a huge amount of these apps in the app store and might have downloaded one for that uniquely satisfying 'beep' when you scan an item at home. But some innovative app designers have realised the potential of this technology for people with disability. The ability to affix a sticker to any product and have a camera auto scan and read the associated information makes the lives of people with visual impairments easier.