TapTapSee: An app to assist visually impaired to read
It has been a challenge for blind and visually impaired to identify medicines, spices in the kitchen, currency etc., while it’s easy to deal with money and spices, it’s certainly not easy when one has to deal with a number of medicines. If doctor has prescribed a specific medicine to use at a particular time, one has to either keep it separately or remember a way to identify the same. But in real situation, it would be difficult.
TapTapSee is a mobile application that has specially designed for blind and visually impaired users. How it works is that user takes the picture of what they would want to know using the application and in fraction of seconds, a description is readout and a text description is displayed. It’s essential for user to turn on VoiceOver (Screen reader on iOS device) to get voice based description and provide camera access to application.
One of the users has tried taking picture of CAPTCHA on a web page and it has been identified effectively. We have also tried reading some business cards, medicines etc.,
About TapTapSee App
TapTapSee is a mobile camera application designed specifically for the blind and visually impaired iOS users. The app utilizes the iDevice’s camera and VoiceOver functions to photograph objects and identify them out loud for the user.
TapTapSee enables the user to double tap on the device’s screen to photograph any two or three dimensional object at any angle, have it accurately analyzed, and defined within seconds. The iDevice’s VoiceOver then speaks the identification audibly to the user
Source: TapTapSee Website
Some of the additional features of this application is that user can have the app repeat the description by using “repeat” button, picture taken are stored in the library of the app for future reference. User can also share identification with social media such as Twitter, Facebook etc.,
TapTapSee was recognized by The American Foundation for the Blind by honoring with Access Award in 2014. The Royal National Institute of the Blind People has recognized TapTapSee as “App of the month” in March, 2013. TapTapSee was hall of fame in the year 2013 on AppleVis – a popular resource for visually impaired about Apple Products.
Recent great news from TapTapSee is that the app is now available for FREE on App Store and open sourced the code on GitHub.
If you are an Android user, the app available on Google Play store but may not be free for now.
Have this app and step towards independent living!
