In its endeavor to increase digital inclusivity, technology has advanced to bridge the gap between itself and the visually impaired giving them the freedom to live like any other individual. Although there are plenty of apps available, the objective of this article is to mention the ones specifically for the visually impaired which cover all aspects of their life, like everyday assistance, navigating, and exploring their hobbies.
- Navcog (A navigation app)
Navcog is an app available for iPhone users developed with the aim to help the visually impaired navigate and explore the world. It uses bluetooth signals to give real-time information about the location of the user and their immediate surroundings. It’s useful for both indoors as well as outdoors.
Availability: iOS
- MANI (Money Identifier app)
MANI ( Money Aided Note Identifier) launched by the RBI is a mobile application to identify currency notes. It scans the notes using the camera and gives an audio output in two languages (English and Hindi), however, the central bank has claimed that the app does not authenticate the note as genuine or counterfeit.
Availability: Android, iOS
- AUDIBLE (Audiobooks)
Audible is an all-time favourite for all sorts of readers out there. With over 2 lakh audiobooks, it certainly is a great replacement for conventional books and especially offers great aid for book lovers with a visual impairment.
Availability : Android , iOS
- TapTapSee (Object Identifier)
TapTapSee is an assistive app for the visually impaired which uses the mobile’s camera combined with Voice over technology to take a photo or video of any object (2D or 3D) shot at any arbitrary angle and identifies it out loud.
Availability: Android, iOS
- COLOR ID (Color Identification)
The colours add to the beauty around us being are a symbol of peace, joy, hope, and whatnot. This app assists those who are unable to see them with their own eyes. Using the phone’s camera, it speaks the names of the colours of an object out loud.
Availability: Android, iOS
- A Blind Legend (An Action Game)
Technology has proven that nothing can curb one’s love for gaming. This game is one of its kind, an action-adventure game without video, replacing the role of eyes with the ears.
Availability: Android, iOS
- Voice Dream Reader (Text to Speech)
This app is extremely useful for the visually impaired to convert any document, text, or ebook into audio. This app has been featured as one of the best apps available for a successful text-to-speech conversion.
Availability: Android, iOS
- Be my Eyes (Assistance)
This app connects sighted volunteers with blind or visually impaired to assist them with day-to-day tasks. The best thing about the app other than the fact that it supports 180 languages is that the number of volunteers on the app far outnumber those in need of help.
Availability: Android, iOS
- Magnifying Glass With Light (LED Magnifier and Menu Reader)
This app is extremely useful for individuals with impaired vision. It’s used to magnify any text, for example, looking at a menu in a dimly lit restaurant or reading the newspaper. It includes various features like light level control, auto-focus lock, image capture, pinch to zoom in-out, etc.
Availability : iOS
10 .TalkBack (Assistance in using the Mobile Phone)
TalkBack is a part of Google’s Android Accessibility services which is specifically designed for the blind and visually impaired to help them in using their devices. This app outputs audio as users scroll through their device letting them know the item they have selected or the application they are using. Talkback can be enabled on android devices by Settings > Accessibility and enabling the TalkBack service.
Availability: Android
