BrailleTouch, new texting app

DAILY DOT COM - According to the Foundation for the Blind there are an average of 550,000 people in Alabama and Florida that are either blind or have poor vision.

There are a great deal of mobile applications on the market to help the visually impaired see color, light, paper money, and now researchers at Georgia Tech are touting a new app that is based on the Braille writing system.

BrailleTouch was created to help the visually-impaired send text message fast and easy.  While there are many applications on the market that do just that, some experts complain they are too slow.  The lead researcher for BrailleTouch says it’s six times faster than existing text messaging apps.

Most people with vision problems will tell you they see with their fingers.  The Braille system consists of 63 characters with each made up of one to six raised dots arranged in a six-position matrix or cell.

These days a lot of the newer machines, like copiers and smartphones, are equipment with flat button-less displays…that make many in the visually impaired community feel truly blind.

The BrailleTouch app takes that into consideration and offers a touchscreen surface.  Here’s a link to the demonstration on how it works:

The app will be available for Apple and Android devices as a free download.  It should be available in a couple of weeks.