COOL BLIND TECH

YOUR SOURCE FOR THE BEST ASSISTIVE TECH NEWS, REVIEWS AND INTERVIEWS FROM TOP BLIND AND LOW VISION EXPERTS. AN ENTERTAINING AND TRUSTWORTHY DISCUSSION ON EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES

Braille

Elections Canada Aims to Empower Visually Impaired Voters with Innovative Mobile App

Elections Canada is actively searching for a proficient partner with the technical prowess to create a groundbreaking smartphone application. This app’s primary objective is to enable blind and visually impaired voters to independently verify their ballot selections.

In their tender proposal, Elections Canada outlines their requirement for a skilled entity capable of not only designing and constructing the application but also ensuring its delivery and maintenance. This mobile application aims to grant visually impaired and blind citizens the invaluable ability to confirm the markings on their ballots. read more

Student Creates 3D Photographs to Benefit the Blind

Ulster University’s Belfast School of Art recently held its annual degree show, where final year students had the opportunity to exhibit their works. Among the standout pieces was a series of innovative 3D photographs titled “The Space Between,” created by photography student Emily McEvoy.

How did McEvoy’s personal experience influence her decision to create 3D photographs?

McEvoy’s parents, one visually impaired and the other blind, inspired her to develop tactile photographs that could be appreciated by providing blind and partially sighted individuals with a new and inclusive way to experience photography. read more

This braille glove reads out loud for you

It can be difficult for some blind people to learn to read braille. That’s where the BrailleWear glove comes in, as it verbally tells them. The glove is being developed by assistive tech startup ORama AI.

What was the inspiration for BrailleWear?

Co-founder Kushagra Jain was inspired to invent the device while volunteering at an institute for the blind in India, where he discovered that 90% of visually impaired people cannot read braille.

How does it work?

Incorporated into the glove is an electronics module located between the thumb and index finger, which contains a small camera and an LED light. That light shines on printed braille dots at an oblique angle, causing each one to cast a black shadow onto the surrounding white paper. read more

CyR.U.S. tags helps blind and visually impaired use correct beauty products

When Victoria Watts’ son Cyrus was born blind due to a rare genetic eye disease in 2016, the mother of four readily admits that her knowledge of the community was limited to say the least.

As she observed how her son navigated daily life through touch, she noticed that one particular challenge was being able to independently identify and use everyday products.

From those concerns, CyR.U.S. Tags was born, a system of tactile symbols and raised QR codes that Watts developed to make products instantly recognizable by touch and the product information digitally accessible through a QR code scan to improve safety and independence. read more

TransLink launching accessibility pilot project using NaviLens

New Westminster and Vancouver are part of a TransLink pilot project to help customers with sight loss. The first of its kind in Canada, the project is designed to help customers to better navigate the transit system independently using the NaviLens app.

How does the app work?

The app scans specialized coded decals, resembling QR codes.
Once the decals are scanned, the app provides audio instructions that guide customers to bus stops and exact points of pick-up; the app can also identify nearby amenities, such as elevators and can provide real-time information alerts. read more

Bristol Braille Technology develops first braille gaming system

The sky is the limit for the tactile gaming device, called the Canute Gaming Dock‘s, from Bristol Braille Technology, which allows blind and partially sighted people to play and create their own video games.

What are some of the games?

Popular visual games like snake and hangman can now be accessed through the Canute Gaming Dock‘s unique Braille cell display.

What was the inspiration behind the technology?

Bristol Braille Technology was founded in 2011 with the dream to create a Braille machine to help reverse the decline in literacy amongst blind people. The company hopes its Canute Gaming Dock will open up opportunities for people who are blind or partially sighted to learn more about programming and computer science. The tactile component could help with orientation, including in games with maps and would be fascinating for a blind student looking to develop their spatial orientation skills. read more

Korean trio designs guitar for blind musicians

Korean design trio Eojin Roh, Seonjin Baek, and Yujeong Shin have introduced VITAR, a Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) designed for the blind and visually impaired.

What does the VITAR look like?

Shaped like a guitar, and instead of the traditional strings. The instrument includes a Braille fingerboard made up of several embossed keys that users sense and press with their left hand to play a tune.

Where does the music transfer to while operating the keys?

While operating the keys, electronic signals get sent to a Digital Audio Workstation.

How does the user navigate the ‘VITAR’ guitar?

To help the user navigate the ‘VITAR’ guitar, which has and asymmetrical shape. Complementing its unique shape is a set of embossed lines carved along the main body, acting as additional guiding points when handling the device. The most prominent lines are found at the center of the guitar, reminiscent of the row of strings in traditional guitars. the recessed chamber at the center of ‘VITAR’ serves as guidelines read more

Spacefelt releases labeling solution for the visually impaired

Vision loss can have a significant impact on one’s ability to perform even the basic tasks. Simple activities such as picking the right condiments from the kitchen cabinet, identifying medicines, reading the numbers on a credit card, or picking matching clothes, at most times, require the assistance of a sighted person. The startup, Grailmaker Innovations has developed Spacefelt, a tagging and labelling app for persons with visual impairment. Using it, the user can tag, label and identify objects around them independently. read more

This app translates braille to text with your iPhone

If you ever thought about learning Braille or just wanted to quickly translate something written in UEB to your iPhone, there’s a new app that can help you with that.

Software engineer Aaron Stephenson started learning Braille a few years ago. To put his knowledge into practice, he built an app using CoreML and Vision to find Braille. Now, he has just released an app that can translate Braille (and more) using just your iPhone.

How does Braille Scanner work?

Braille Scanner allows users to take a photo of a piece of paper with Braille on it using their iPhones and then within seconds, it’s translated to text. read more

Orbit Research Introduces The Orbit Speak Notetaker at CSUN

Orbit Research announced the launch of the Orbit Speak braille notetaker at the 37th Annual CSUN Conference on Technology for People with Disabilities in Anaheim, California, USA. The Orbit Speak is equipped with features of a modern braille notetaker with a braille keyboard and synthesized speech output in a compact, pocket-sized device.

What does the Orbit Speak offer?

The Orbit Speak offers built-in note-taking and productivity applications including a book reader, file editor, calendar, address-book, calculator, clock and alarms. It can also connect to smartphones and computers and provides a convenient way to enter text in braille and control the device without having to use touch gestures. read more

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