Assistive Technology for People Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired
- Braille Technology (19)
- Magnification Hardware (19)
- Optical Character Recognition (OCR) (10)
- Options for Reading Digital Audiobooks (24)
- Screen Magnification Software (6)
- Screen Reading Software (7)
Tactile Vision iPad Guide for Blind & Low-Vision Users
The iPad Tactile Screenshot Quick References are raised representations of various iPad screens to show iPad users who are blind what appears where on their device.
Vanda Pharamaceuticals Sponsors USABA to Promote Non-24 Sleep Disorder Awareness
Vanda Pharmaceuticals, which specializes in treating central nervous systems disorders, is sponsoring the US Association of Blind Athletes to spread awareness of Non-24-Hour Sleep Syndrome, a circadian-rhythm disruptor that results from lack of light perception.
Fleksy is an iOS app that works with VoiceOver to make typing quick and easy...
Fleksy is an iOS app that works with VoiceOver to make typing quick and easy for blind iPhone users. The app features on touch-screen keypad that deduces desired input using a next-generation auto-correct engine and proprietary programming.
Assisstive Sports Technology for Persons Who Are Blind
Some of the most life-changing applications of assistive technology are the devices and adaptations providing access to sports and recreation. This list looks at five products designed for persons who are blind or visually impaired.
Who Was Louis Braille?
Louis Braille gave blind people the illuminating gift of literacy. But he was also a communications visionary, creating not just the world's first coding scheme to represent written language, but also its dot-matrix printer. Braille's achievements forever changed how blind people live and how all people perceive limitation and possibility.
Panasonic Adds Voice Guidance to 2012 TVs
Panasonic has added Voice Guidance to many of its 2012 plasma and LCD TVs. The company developed the text-to-speech technology with England's Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) and introduced the accessible sets in the UK in April 2012.
26 Useful Apps for Blind iPhone Users
This National Braille Press booklet profiles 26 mobile apps especially useful to blind and visually impaired iPhone users.
iPhone Redefining Assistive Technology's Image & Price
The iPhone is revolutionizing how persons with disabilities, especially blindness, perceive assistive technology and is redefining expectations for how much users should have to pay for accessibility.
Bank Online with a Screen Reader
For persons who are blind or visually impaired, online banking with a screen reader is daunting. It doesn't need to be, but knowing how to navigate web pages using screen access software is essential.
Make Kickball Accessible to Blind Students
The BeepKickball is a red playground ball fitted with a sound emitter designed to make the game accessible to children and adults who are blind or visually impaired.
Bank of America Accessibility
Like most large financial institutions, Bank of America uses assistive technology, including screen-reader compatible websites and Talking ATMs, to make banking more accessible for persons with disabilities.
Find Video Described Content
Video description is becoming increasingly available in all forms of media. Description makes key visual elements accessible through narration and enables blind and visually impaired people to get more enjoyment out of movies, TV shows, and live attractions.
What is Video Description?
Video description makes live, broadcast, and online media accessible to blind and visually impaired viewers. The technology, created by the Media Access Group at WGBH, narrates information on key visual elements a blind viewer may miss, enabling a deeper understanding and appreciation of the program.
Media Access Group at WGBH
The Media Access Group at WGBH created and continues to improve closed captioning and video description that make media accessible to disabled viewers.
Blind Storyteller Uses Narrative to Enhance Classroom Learning
Michael Lang, who was born with Retinitis Pigmentosa, has overcome his visual impairment and turned his love of storytelling into a way to connect with young people and launch -- Coyote's Inkwell -- a teaching business dedicated to education, enrichment, and entertainment through music, stories, and laughter.
Use VizWiz iPhone App for Fast Answers About What's Around You
With VizWiz, blind or visually impaired iPhone users send photos with recorded questions and receive quick answers about what's around them from various online resources.
Make Educational Videos Accessible to Blind Viewers
The Described and Captioned Media Program (DCMP) provides description guidelines for producers of educational content to make their materials more accessible to blind and visually impaired students.
What Are Talking Books?
We've all heard the term "Talking Book," but most people don't where they come from, who they're for, or how blind, visually impaired, or print-disabled readers access them. This FAQ explores these topics.
Spacial Screen-Reader Accessible Radio Station Software
Spacial SAM VIBE is automation software for creating web radio stations. The program enables broadcasters to upload and manage large music libraries and set schedules. SAM VIBE is also compatible with screen readers to make it more accessible to blind and visually impaired persons.
UltraCane Emits Sound Waves to Help Blind Users Avoid Obstacles
The UltraCane is a mobility aid for blind persons that uses ultrasound waves to echolocate potential obstacles -- at both ground and eye level -- that appearing in one’s path as they walk.
Organize School e-Books with Bookstream
Bookstream helps teachers organize e-books used by students with print disabilities, including blindness and dyslexia. The remote application enables teachers to assign books students can access on their computer or mobile device and read using text-to-speech technology.
Access Braille & Talking Books from the National Library Service
For blind, visually impaired, and learning disabled students, the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped offers access to over 400,000 titles in audio, braille, and electronic text that can transform one’s education.
Orion & APH to Create World's First Talking, Graphing Calculator
Orbit Research and the American Printing House for the Blind (APH) have developed the the Orion TI-84 Plus, the world’s first graphing calculator accessible to blind and visually impaired math students.
Trekker Breeze Talking GPS Handheld for Blind Persons
The Trekker Breeze from HumanWare is a talking GPS device for persons who are blind and visually impaired that provides information on one’s location and what’s around them, including street names, upcoming intersections, and nearest address being passed.
How Blind People Access Computers
Blind and visually impaired people can access computers even if they can't see what's on their monitor. The two main technologies that enable blind people to use computers are screen readers and screen magnification software. This article provides an introduction to these solutions.
AppleVis Online Community for Blind iPhone Users
AppleVis is an online community for iPhone users who are blind or visually impaired. The site posts app reviews, recommendations, tutorials, and information on deals, and gives members the opportunity to contribute their own content.
Computer Resource List for Blind & Visually Impaired
When it comes to providing computer access to blind and visually impaired people, certain name-brand products come to mind. This article profiles the top few in each of the main access categories, including screen access solution, optical character recognition, and braille translation software.
Perkins Assistive Technology Prize
MassChallenge, which early stage entrepreneurs find funding, is adding the $25,000 Perkins Assistive Technology Prize to inspire solutions that empower persons with disabilities to reach their full potential.
BrainPort V100 Enables Blind to See Using Their Tongue
The BrainPort V100 is a non-surgical vision enhancement device -- still in the prototype stage -- that converts video images into electrode patterns on an array affixed to the tongue. Users translate tactile data to the corresponding shapes and movement of objects in their environment.
Learn How to Use an iPhone With Braille Book of Tactile Screenshots
The iPhone Tactile Screenshot Quick Reference Guide from Tactile Vision and sold through National Braille Press provides diagrams with accompanying text in braille and large print to orient blind users on what's on the various iPhone screens.
Book Helps Blind & Visually Impaired Access Apple's iPhone
This article is a brief profile of a new book, Getting Started with the iPhone: An Introduction for Blind Users, by Anna Dresner and Dean Martineau. The book is available in braille and ASCII text from National Braille Press.
Keys U See Large Print Keyboard
Keys U See is a large print computer keyboard designed for persons with visual impairments. The keyboard uses high contrast colors -- yellow keys on a black background -- and larger letter fonts to make typing easier for low-vision users.
Rent Accessible E-Textbooks for Half the Price of Printed Ones
The Student E-rent Pilot Project (STEPP) helps print-disabled students access electronic textbooks for about half the price of printed books. The texts support screen readers and magnification programs. STEPP gives blind, visually impaired, and learning disabled students a crucial resource to meet their academic reading needs.
ABC Assistive Technology Fund for the Blind & Visually Impaired
The Association of Blind Citizens (ABC) maintains a fund to help qualified persons who are blind or visually impaired purchase adaptive equipment, including accessibility software, digital audiobook players, and desktop video magnifiers. ABC pays for one half of the retail price to grantees.
Improve Screen Reading Skills With Free Hadley Online Courses
The Hadley School for the Blind offers free online courses to help students and aspiring professionals hone their screen reading, Internet, word processing, and Microsoft Excel skills.
Free Communications Technology for Deaf-Blind Persons
The FCC's iCanConnect campaign seeks to educate the public on the range of free and low-cost communications products available to persons with vision and hear loss -- a provision of the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (CVAA).
CDesk Simplifies PC Use With Full Accessibility and Pared-Down Programs
Whether you're visually impaired, learning disabled, or techno-phobic, making a computer easier to see and use is a tremendous help. CDesk combines all major screen access technologies in one simple Windows application that scans, magnifies, and reads text and web content, and enables navigation and dictation through voice command.
3 Reasons to Join a Computer User Group
Joining a computer user group, whether in-person or online, can keep you current on assistive technology, provide training and peer support, and empower you to transcend a disability.
Mobile Apps for Blind Travelers
National Braille Press has published "21 iPhone Apps We Can't Live Without." Among the apps profiled are several designed to help blind and visually impaired people travel more efficiently and safely. This article examines five such apps.
BlindSquare Makes FourSquare Accessible
BlindSquare is an iOS app that integrates with VoiceOver, Apple's built-in screen reader, to make the popular FourSquare locator app accessible to users who cannot see the screen.
American Printing House for the Blind Provides Books in Alternative Formats
The American Printing House for the Blind (APH) is a major source of books specially formatted for the blind and visually impaired. APH produces textbooks and other materials in audio, braille, electronic text, and large print. APH also manufactures literacy aids such as braille writers and audio playback equipment. APH products are expensive,...
Convert Text Documents into Braille or Audio Files with RoboBraille
RoboBraille converts text sent via email into braille and audio documents that are immediately accessible to the blind and visually impaired and persons with learning disabilities.
Top 10 iPhone Apps for the Visually Impaired
Blind and visually impaired technology users are finding Apple products such as the iPhone increasingly accessible. The phone's camera can capture and read text aloud, process images to identify colors and currency, and provide crucial access to recorded books.
TV Speak Makes Digital TV Accessible to Blind PC Users
Blind and visually impaired people enjoy TV but find it difficult to use a remote or read text such as program guides that can enhance their viewing experience. TV Speak routes TV to an environment most blind people know well—the PC—and provides viewers more accessibility and navigational control.