A student at IUPUI is working to make sure smartphones are accessible to all users. The visually impaired have been able to use smartphones through audible feedback, but reading them hasn’t been as easy.
IUPUI graduate student, Madhura Mhatre has a possible solution: an app that turns letters into digital Braille on the screen. The app is used in conjunction with a glove featuring color-coded sensors, making it feel like the user is reading raised Braille.
“My app focuses on giving the input onto the fingerprint which actually creates the feeling of reading through a Braille book,” said Mhatre. “I really didn’t want to ask the impaired to learn something knew but wanted to recreate the feel that they are used to.”