Oct 23

Qualcomm develops eyes-free smartphone for the blind and visually impaired, calls it Ray

Posted in: Today's Chili

Qualcomm develops eyes-free smartphone for the blind and visually impaired, calls it Ray

Smartphones have made juggling multiple single-purpose gadgets a thing of the past for many, but the blind and visually impaired often use a raft of devices built with eyes-free use in mind. Qualcomm and Project Ray, however, are aiming to consolidate phone calls, text messaging with voice read-out, navigation, object recognition, audio book reading and more for the visually impaired in a system built on an off-the-shelf Android phone. To navigate the smartphone, users leverage a handful of simple finger movements that can be started at any point on the handset’s touch screen. Voice prompts and vibration provide feedback to users, and the UI adapts to usage patterns and preferences. Currently, Ray devices have access to Israel’s Central Library for the Blind and are being tested by 100 folks in the country. For the full lowdown, head past the break for the press release.

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Qualcomm develops eyes-free smartphone for the blind and visually impaired, calls it Ray originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Oct 2012 03:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oct 22

Qualcomm Is Making It Easier For Blind People to Use Touchscreens

Posted in: Today's Chili


Smartphones are changing the world and making it easier for all kinds of people to access information. Except for blind people, who miss out on several of the aspects of smartphones and touchscreens that make them so cool. Qualcomm, which produces the Snapdragon SoC that powers many Android phones, has built features for blind people that could make life significantly easier for the 285 million visually impaired people worldwide. Qualcomm is calling the software  ”Project Ray,”  and it features a user interface that’s completely reconsidered from the point of view of a blind person. For instance, a user touches the screen, and that point becomes the starting point for other interactions with the device. The devices also use vibration to provide useful feedback. Currently, the UI can make calls, text with a vocal read-out, and do most social networking. Also, the Central Library for the Blind, Visually Impaired and Handicapped is making a lot of blind-accessible media available for download. Sounds like a good program.

The Project Ray handset is built on top of Android and is currently in testing in Israel.

The photo is courtesy of RedEyedRex.

 

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: EyeRing voice-activated augmented reality device for the blind, Busalert app helps blind people in identifying the arrival time of buses,

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