Mobile apps that make life easier for vision impaired people

Until some years ago people who are blind or have low vision were dependent on others to read anything. Today apps are enabling visually impaired people to overcome several difficulties.

Below is a list of apps that are making lives easier.

• LookTel Money Reader – This app recognizes a currency bill and speaks out the denomination. This helps blind and visually impaired people to identify and count rupee notes quickly without difficulty. All the user has to do is point the camera of their smartphone at the note and the app tells the value of the rupee note immediately. At present, the app supports 21 currencies, including the Indian Rupee. This app is useful while shopping to ensure that you’re getting the right amount of change. The app also displays the number in large numbers on the screen making it ideal for those with limited vision.
• Kindle – This free Kindle app allows users to purchase and download a vast collection of eBooks in a number of genres. The books can be bought from Amazon and downloaded on the smartphone. Accessibility features on the Kindle app include large prints, human narrators, computer-generated text, speech conversion and more.
• TapTapSee – is available for both Android and iOS. This helps blind people recognize and identify everyday objects. To identify an object, double tap the screen to take a picture of it and the app will speak the name of the object out loud. One of the best features is that the object can be held at any angle and the app will recognize it. You can also point a product barcode in the app and TapTapSee will tell you the product name, brand, expiry date and much more.
• Be My Eyes – This is also available for both Android and iOS, It lets people without visual disabilities help blind and visually impaired people in real time with the help of a live video connection. It works very easily. A blind or low vision person places a request for assistance on the app. The app then connects to a volunteer via a video call, who provides support.

AccessNote – Available for both Android and iOS. The AccessNote is a note taker app to help blind and visually impaired people take notes with the help of easy-to-use VoiceOver and TalkBack features. Evernote is another popular app for note-taking that helps you share notes on multiple devices.

• Dragon Dictation – This app lets the user dictate messages to his or her cell and see it on the screen instantly. It also enables the user to add punctuation marks by specifying it out loud. The messages can then be shared with others via text, email, and also on social media.