Project Ray: The World's First Smart Phone For Blind And Visually Impaired Users

The smartphone revolution has brought a lot of comfort and convenience to practically everyone's fingertips. Looking for information, reading books, communicating with loved ones in not one but many ways, and even performing "real work" using a phone has become a way of life for us. Thanks to all the phone manufacturers and their dedication towards accessibility, blind and visually impaired users have had great success with smartphones.

However, the regular smartphone can be quite overwhelming for the average visually impaired user. The touch screen on a smartphone, which is the most essential component of the device, just doesn't have enough tactile clues to help a blind user navigate the menus. Voice commands work pretty well, but can still be frustrating to many. Also, for users who are not so tech savvy, less is more, and they desire something that's not too complicated.

Project Ray, an Israeli startup, has developed a phone that is specially designed keeping blind people in mind. The interface of the phone is robust, yet very simple, and makes most sense for people who are visually impaired. The touch screen consists of five to twelve icons or buttons, depending on where the user is in the navigation area. Every icon has a designated app. The user just needs to move their finger

in a specific direction to open the app designated for that icon. Although the icons are laid out in the center of the screen, users don't necessarily have to "press" the displayed icon in order to open an app. Placing a finger anywhere on the screen enables the interface and the icon layout, and from that very location the user can move their fingers in any direction to open the desired app. The screen tracks the direction of the finger and does not require that an icon be clicked. Thanks to tactile feedback and voice commands, the user would know that their touch has been recognized and the required action would be performed.

The interface has been kept simple and minimal, yet all required functionalities have been provided. Navigating through multiple pages of apps is a breeze. Of course, the phone provides pretty much all standard features and applications that a regular smartphone has (favorites, full call logs, telephony, alarm clock, radio, voice recorder, calendar etc.). The in built camera also has currency recognition that can scan money bills and tell the user if it is a $5 or $100 bill. For people who like to read, audio books are available from the Library of Congress, Amazon, and others.

Project Ray has three models available that can be bought directly from their website, Amazon, and Odinmobile. There is also an Android simulator that can be downloaded from here if you want to see how it works.

Watch this demo video to see how easy it is to navigate the clutter free interface. A little bit of practice would make any user comfortable and using it on a daily basis would become a way of life.

There are more quick training videos on their Youtube channel.

Watch this video to see how others are using this phone.

Visit Project Ray for more details.

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VoiceMyMail: One Seamless Web Email Interface For Blind Users

In the heart of Europe, there is a team of very talented and dedicated people that is working on making email easily accessible to blind users by creating one single robust web interface that integrates seamlessly into their lives, and thus narrowing the digital divide between seeing users and visually disabled users.

But what does that mean? And Isn't email already accessible?

For visually impaired users, a lot has been offered in the last so many years that provide ease of use and communication. However, in the grand scheme of things, the features offered don't seem seamless and easy - there is usually a software that needs to be installed and then configured for use. This also means that if a user is at a different location or on a different computer, they may find it very difficult or nearly impossible to use their web based email.

The folks behind VoiceMyMail have a very solid philosophy - they don't want blind users to struggle with installations and configurations; they want users' web mail interface to be accessible the moment they sign in. Unfortunately, most of the popular email providers do not offer adequate solutions to visually impaired users, as a result of which, they have to resort to obsolete desktop clients that offer features that are clunky and not the greatest.

The team doesn't want blind users to give up the ease and comfort of web based email interfaces just because they don't provide accessible features. They don't want blind users to go through a stressful training of those numerous keyboard combinations just to perform simple operations like sending emails or downloading attachments. It goes without saying that the ideal way to access web mail would be from anywhere, not just from that one computer that has the user's desktop client installed. Keeping all this in mind, the folks behind VoiceMyMail have created a new web surfing logic called "MyMail Philosophy" which lets the user perform essential operations in not more than three steps! All in all, the idea is to not let visually impaired users think that they are disabled.

This image shows how VoiceMyMail compares to other popular email providers like Windows Live Mail and Gmail. Click image to enlarge.

The team has been working hard on making this project global - meaning they want the VoiceMyMail interface to work with any and every email provider from across the globe. So essentially, whoever your email provider may be, the VoiceMyMail interface will work with all of them seamlessly and flawlessly. They are currently seeking funding from the happy citizens of the web to make this dream a reality.

"We would like to make the Internet, if not a better place, at least a comfortable place for everybody", says Salvatore Satta, Campaign Director of VoiceMyMail.

If you are interested in making a web email interface come to life that will work with all the email providers and make essential features easily accessible (without the need of a mouse!), head over to VoiceMyMail's Indiegogo funding page to donate, or to read more about this campaign and spread the word.

Here's the VoiceMyMail team and a couple of blind users telling you more about VoiceMyMail.

Head to their funding page to learn more, donate or spread the word.

VoiceMyMail funding page

VoiceMyMail Facebook page 

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CDesk: An Accessible Collection Of Applications For PC

For people who have visual and/or cognitive disabilities and are heavy users of computers, CDesk, a suite of computer applications, may be a tremendous help.

CDesk is a high contrast, large print, and fully speech enabled collection of eight applications that can help people with disabilities perform computer related tasks in a very simple fashion. The collection consists of programs specifically for email, a special browser for the Internet (with reduced clutter) and special filters that will remove all images and links form the page to make reading easy (this is true for the email program too), a media and books section that consists of internet radio and downloadable books/periodicals, a simple to use word processor, and its own speech recognition tool called PEGGY, to name a few. CDesk also stores contacts, provides calendar/spreadsheet/calculator options and has the ability to support approximately 30 more languages. Currently, CDesk is available only for the Windows platform (speech recognition works only with Windows 7 and 8).

A lot of supporting material in the form of videos are available on CDesk's website. They also provide free technical support from 7AM to 5PM Pacific time to answer questions and provide help with CDesk.

A 15 day trial version can be downloaded from here or by going to CDesk's website and clicking the "Download CDesk Trial" button. The pricing for CDesk starts at $395.

Watch this video to get an overview of what all CDesk can do.

Read more about CDesk on the AFB AccessWorld Magazine website.

CDesk website: Adaptive Voice

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EyeRing: Wearable Camera That Detects Objects For The Visually Impaired

Image source: Engadget

Suranga Nanayakkara and Roy Shilkrot, researchers at MIT Media Lab, have developed a new bluetooth camera that can be worn on a finger and used to detect objects. This camera has been designed keeping people with visual impairment in mind, and can perform various tasks (based on the "mode" selected) that will not only help perform everyday tasks but also assist in self learning.

The concept of EyeRing is simple - a camera, connected via bluetooth to a phone or similar device that has voice output, is mounted on the user's finger. The user points the camera at an object and presses the shutter button on the side. The camera takes a picture of the object and sends it to the phone, which detects the object and provides a voice response back to the user.

Picture this: A visually impaired shopper goes to a store. He wears EyeRing on his finger and selects the "distance" mode and points ahead. EyeRing calculates the free space available and speaks out to the shopper. He then starts looking at shirts. He switches to "color" mode and points the camera at the shirts he is looking at. EyeRing detects the color of every shirt and tells the shopper what colors they are. He then switches to "tag" mode, and points EyeRing at the tag of the shirt he selected. EyeRing reads the tag and tells him the price printed on the tag. Finally, to check how much money he has, the shopper pulls out a couple of bills from his wallet and points EyeRing at them. EyeRing reads the denomination on the bills and tells the shopper how much the bills are worth.

Everyday shopping just got so much simpler and easier for visually impaired people!

EyeRing can also be used by little kids who are learning how to read. Instead of someone actually telling them what a word is, they can simply point EyeRing at the word, and using its OCR feature, EyeRing would speak the word back to the kid, thus enabling self learning without anyone else's assistance.

According to the source link, EyeRing is still buggy, but of course, it is still being worked on, and hopefully in the coming days/months/years would be out in the market and make every day life a lot easier for people with visual impairment.

Watch the following videos to see EyeRing in action. The first video shows how a shopper can use it at a store. The second video is of the researchers talking about EyeRing in more detail.







Source: Engadget, EyeRing website

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Mobile Accessibility Suite Free On Sprint, Boost and Virgin Mobile

Sprint, Boost Mobile, and Virgin Mobile subscribers in the US, who are blind or have visual impairment, can download a suite of accessibility apps  on their Android phones for free that usually costs $99. The suite consists of ten apps that are used by an average users on a daily basis  -

• Phone - Make/ answer calls; manage call log.
• Contacts - Manage contacts (even from Facebook).
• Calendar - Manage and view calendar entries.
• SMS - Send, receive and manage text messages.
• Alarms - Set alarms.
• Email - Full access to Gmail account.
• Where Am I - Tells current location.
• Web - Internet.
• Apps - Access all apps on your phone.
• Settings

The suite also does the following:

• Screen reader
• Date/time, battery level, network coverage, missed calls etc.

This suite can be downloaded on any phone that has Android 2.1 and above. To use the screen reader feature of the suite, the phone should have a physical navigation button (like a trackball), and only works on Android 2.2 and above.

Watch the video to see a quick demo of Mobile Accessibility.

Visit the following link to read more about the suite, read the phone providers terms and conditions, and to download the suite on to your phone.

Mobile Accessibility on Google Play

Remember, you can still download this suite for $99 if you are signed up with other phone service providers.

Source: Engadget

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Audio Notetaker

Sonocent, a UK based assistive technology company, recently released its Mac version of Audio Notetaker - a very simple, intuitive, and easy to use note taking software that can be quite beneficial for people with dyslexia and those who may have problems focussing for a longer period of time (for example, in a classroom).

I downloaded the trial version of the software and found it to be very easy to use. I actually created a small PowerPoint and added audio notes to it within 10 minutes. The software displays very few icons on the top "ribbon".  I personally feel that not including too many icons/ options in the menu is a good thing for students (who may have learning disabilities) who don't want to get intimidated by all the features of the software showcased in the menu. The buttons are minimal and very well spaced, thus making them easier to locate.

The software either allows direct recording of audio or import of an audio file. I must mention that I have used audio recording software in the past, but they were all a little cumbersome to use, and the recorded audio quality was above average at best. However, the audio that I recorded using Audio Notetaker was crystal clear! Also, the recording process literally involves the click of just one button, nothing else!

Note: I recorded audio on a Macbook Air. If you are using Windows with an external mic, you might want to enable the mic before recording audio.

The software also lets you color code different sections of your audio. For example, if you are attending a lecture in which the professor discusses different topics, you can add different colors to different sections of the audio that will let you know what is where. You can also go back to a certain location repeatedly to listen to audio notes again and again. Audio Notetaker also allows the user to control the playback speed, which means that one can easily increase or decrease the playback speed as per their requirements.

Audio Notetaker offers quite many features, but I did not explore each one of them primarily because I felt that recording/playing audio, adding colors to audio sections, highlighting etc. would be the features that would be extensively used by students with dyslexia or anyone with some kind of learning disability.

Watch the introductory video to see what Audio Notetaker can do.



A 30 day trial of the software can be downloaded from their website here. A one year license would cost you $74.99 and a full license is $149.99.

Visit Sonocent's website for more information.

Click here to view the press release (takes you to minus.com).

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Audiobooks: Audiobook App for iOS

Audiobooks is very true to its name, and if you like (free) audiobooks, then this is the app for you. Available for both iPhone/iPod Touch and iPad, Audiobooks has over 3,500 classic books available for free. Most of the books come from the LibriVox Project where people from around the world release classic audiobooks that they themselves recorded.

Audiobooks is very intuitive  and easy to use. The first option on the app on the left navigation bar is "Top 50" from where you can choose one of the most popular classic books. You can also search for a book using the search option on the top left corner.

Notice that some of the books are highlighted in green and some in grey. The ones in grey are totally free whereas the ones in green have both free and paid options.

If you choose a book highlighted in green you will get multiple versions of it. The first version is always the paid version. 

There is also an "All A - Z" option that lists all the books this app has. Here, the ones highlighted in grey have both free and paid versions, however, the ones in blue are paid only. There are no free versions of those books available.

This app has a rating of 3/5 on iTunes. I noticed that most of the critical reviewers were looking for modern day books on this app which they obviously did not find. After reading those comments, I think I should mention here again that this app only has classic books. I tried three audiobooks and did not have any problems going through them (not the entire lengths, just bits and pieces for the sake of this blog post). 

The ad supported app is available for free. If you don't want to see ads and access some more features, you can get the app for $.99.

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Enhanced Accessibility For Blind Google Users

One thing remarkable about Google is that it is constantly doing its best to make its products more and more accessible. Recently, Google added some more accessibility features and new keyboard shortcuts to make use of Docs, Sites, and Calendar easier for users with visual impairment.

Accessibility in Google Docs and Sites

If you are a Google Docs user, you will hear feedback when you format text, insert tables/labels/comments, upload/download a file etc. In Spreadsheets, you will hear cell location, contents, and comments when you move between cells. You will also hear feedback outside the main content area (menu bar, dialog box, chat pane etc.).

In sites, you will hear feedback when you navigate through your site, add/edit pages, and navigate through menus and dialog boxes.

To read more about the enhanced features in Docs and Sites, click here.

Keyboard shortcuts for Google documents.

Keyboard shortcuts for spreadsheets.

Keyboard shortcuts for documents list.

Keyboard shortcuts for Sites.

Improved Accessibility in Google Calendars

Accessibility has been enhanced for calendar lists, agenda view, and guest lists, as well as new shortcuts have been added to make Google Calendars easier to use. To read about these enhanced accessibility features, click here.

To read more about accessibility provided by Google, go to their accessibility page.

Adding accessibility features to its products is an ongoing process at Google. I will keep you updated about more accessible features as and when they are announced.

Source: Google Docs Blog

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SpeakIt! - Free Text to Speech Add On for Google Chrome

SpeakIt! is a very simple, and easy to use add on for the Google Chrome browser that does just one thing for its users - convert text to speech. The concept is very simple - select the text you want to be read, and SpeakIt! will read it back to you. That's all! To stop, just press the pause button.

Installing it cannot be any easier. Just go to SpeakIt's page in the Chrome Web Store and click the install button. Once that's done you will see the "speaker" icon  on the top right corner of the Chrome browser.

The icon that activates SpeakIt!

Note: You may have to restart your Chrome browser for SpeakIt! to function correctly.

Here's a demo video of SpeakIt!

As of now, it does not work on encrypted pages (https:). Although SpeakIt! has a rating of 4+ from more than 3,700 users, some of the reviewers mentioned that they faced problems with SpeakIt! on 64 bit Windows 7 Home.

Did it work for you? 

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Verbally - Free Predictive Text App for iPad

Verbally is a free and easy to use predictive text app that allows people who have difficulty with speech to hold conversation with minimal typing. Verbally allows input in three ways - by allowing users to choose in-built words; phrases; and/or typing their own words. Users can choose either a male or female voice, and to make conversations more personal, can import their contacts to the app. The app also comes with three different keyboard layouts (Horizontal: QWERTY, Left Handed, and Right Handed) to allow users to choose the one that is best for them.

Verbally's description in the app store states that "Verbally is an invaluable communication aid for people with apraxia, ALS, stroke, traumatic brain injury, autism, parkinson's, cerebral palsy, or muscular dystrophy."

This app's rating is 4+ out of 5 on the app store, and has very good reviews from several users.

Check the video for a quick demo of Verbally.

Source: Bill Shackleton on Twitter (@CRPDisabilities)


App store link.


More at Verbally's website.

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Talking Compass - Android App For People With No or Low Vision [Video]

I found this great app on the Android Marketplace called Talking Compass that helps people with low or no vision with directions. It is a simple compass app that speaks the direction the user is facing every two seconds. The latest app also speaks degrees along with the direction. This app is available for free on the Android Marketplace.

In order to use this app though, one must enable Text-to-speech on their phone which is a very simple process.

To enable Text-to-Speech, press the "Menu" button on the home screen, and then select "Settings".

On the Settings screen, scroll down to "Text-to-Speech" and select it.

If you do not have voice data installed, you will see "Install voice data" enabled. Select this option and follow the instructions to install voice data.

Once you are done installing voice data, come back to the "Text-to-speech" screen following the instructions listed above to hear an example, just to make sure that it works.

Although the app is called "Talking Compass", it installs as "1TalkingCompass", and the chances of it being the first in the list of your installed apps are highly likely. Don't go looking for it among the apps starting with "t".

Watch the video for a quick demo of the Talking Compass app.


Talking Compass for Android from Venkat Rao on Vimeo.

Cost: Free.

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Text to Speech App for iPhone/iPod/iPad

Here's a great app for the iPhone/iPod/iPad that lets people with speech impairment to communicate very easily and efficiently with others. It is called Assistive Chat, and the strong point of this app is predictive text. Once the user types a letter, Assistive Chat gives them a list of six words. They can either choose one of the six words or type the next letter to get more suggested words. Once the needed word appears in the list, the user simply selects it, and that word becomes a part of the sentence. Once the entire sentence has been typed, a "speech" button read it out loud.

The idea behind this app is to have a decent conversation without involving too many keystrokes because that can be somewhat time consuming, and tiring.

Watch the video to see a demo of Assistive Chat.

The creators of this app advice people with disabilities to use it on the iPad because of its bigger screen surface. It sells on the app store for $24.99.

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