TypeInBraille: a braille-based typing application for touchscreen devices

Abstract

Smartphones provide new exciting opportunities to visually impaired users because these devices can support new assistive technologies that cannot be deployed on desktops or laptops. Some devices, like the iPhone, are rapidly gaining popularity among the visually impaired since the use of pre-installed screenreader applications renders these devices accessible. However, there are still some operations that require a longer time or higher mental workload to be completed by a visually impaired user. In this contribution we present a novel application for text entry, called TypeInBraille, that is based on the Braille code and hence is specifically designed for blind users.