
Kellogg’s new Rice Krispies initiative aims to break down at least one simple barrier — parents can now share the treat’s love notes with children who are blind or have low vision.
Kellogg’s new Rice Krispies initiative aims to break down at least one simple barrier — parents can now share the treat’s love notes with children who are blind or have low vision.
From fostering transparency and fairness in elections to alleviating suffering after droughts and natural disasters, we’re all about giving people the platforms they need to raise their voices and be heard.
ELIA is a breakthrough new language for the blind. It can be mastered in a matter of hours, not months.
Developed in Korea, the Dot is an extremely new product that offers a new take on telling the time and giving notifications to the visually impaired.
Japanese designer Kosuke Takahashi has created a new typeface that allows everyone equal access to information, whether they can see or not.
Suppose you had a tablet that only displayed one line of text at a time. It would be pretty frustrating, but it’s a limitation that blind users of braille-displaying devices are faced with constantly. Thanks to new technology being developed at the University of Michigan, however, full-page refreshable braille tablets could soon be on their way.
Sumit Dagar, an Indian designer, is developing a tactile smartphone for people who are blind. The screen of the smartphone will be covered in pins that can be raised to create braille, tactile text, tactile maps and tactile images. Dagar is currently working on a prototype and the first model could be really for sale within a year. The project is being funded by a US$50,000 2012 Rolex Award for Enterprise. The design clearly has value for people who are deaf-blind, and the possibility of tactile maps and images seems promising. Watch a video describing the project after the jump.
Developed by Israeli Company Inpris, UpSense is mobile app that provides a gesture based keyboard that works similarly to Braille typing. Each character has its own gesture, which adjusts to the user’s hands and can even be customizable. It is very similar to another app designed by researchers at Georgia Tech. Both apps would be useful for users who already know how to type in Braille, however, could it become a more widespread technology? With more Universally Designed options on the market, like voice control and advanced predictive typing apps, is there still a need for something like UpSense? Most likely, the answer is yes, but as information technology becomes more prevalent in everyday life the categories of assistive technology and mainstream technology are over lapping more and more.
Imagine if smartphone and tablet users could text a note under the table during a meeting without anyone being the wiser. Mobile gadget users might also be enabled to text while walking, watching TV or socializing without taking their eyes off what they’re doing.