Location
Rochester Institute of Technology
Description
Touchscreen devices have paved their way into the mobile scene, presenting a wide set of possibilities but a comparable number of new challenges, particularly for people who are blind. While these devices have a small number of tactile cues, such as buttons, they provide the opportunity to create novel interaction techniques. In this paper, we present mBrailler. mBrailler is a mobile braille keyboard that combines the benefits of physical keyboards (speed and accuracy) and gestural interfaces (flexibility and personalization). We built an 8-button Braille keyboard that can be attached to the back of mainstream smartphones allowing fast and familiar chorded input. On the other hand,the touchscreen enables thumb entered gestures for more complex text editing operations, such as caret movement, text selection, copy, and paste. This project combines the tactile benefits of Braille typewriters with the customization of smartphone applications. We aim to provide a more efficient and effective typing experience for blind users, thus increasing their productivity with current mobile devices.
mBrailler: Multimodal Braille Keyboard for Android
Rochester Institute of Technology
Touchscreen devices have paved their way into the mobile scene, presenting a wide set of possibilities but a comparable number of new challenges, particularly for people who are blind. While these devices have a small number of tactile cues, such as buttons, they provide the opportunity to create novel interaction techniques. In this paper, we present mBrailler. mBrailler is a mobile braille keyboard that combines the benefits of physical keyboards (speed and accuracy) and gestural interfaces (flexibility and personalization). We built an 8-button Braille keyboard that can be attached to the back of mainstream smartphones allowing fast and familiar chorded input. On the other hand,the touchscreen enables thumb entered gestures for more complex text editing operations, such as caret movement, text selection, copy, and paste. This project combines the tactile benefits of Braille typewriters with the customization of smartphone applications. We aim to provide a more efficient and effective typing experience for blind users, thus increasing their productivity with current mobile devices.
