Project description
A vision to give the blind full control over smartphones
People with normal vision can spend hours staring at their smartphone screens. Graphical user interfaces and touch-screen technology are widely available, from smartphones to laptops, but not always accessible for blind people. Blind people are among the most disadvantaged disability groups when it comes to smartphone usage. To assist blind people to overcome the barriers, innovative technology is being developed. The EU-funded BlindTouch project will deliver a smartphone user interface that is automatically imposed across all system functions, applications and services. Specifically, it allows the blind and visually impaired community to effectively use smartphones. The project’s vision is to better serve the visually impaired and extend the reach of smartphones and digital connectivity to them.
Objective
Today, only a fraction of the 285 million visually impaired people around the world can effectively use smartphones and connected digital services. Despite the efforts of developers and organisations promoting accessibility, blind people are painfully behind when it comes to smartphone technologies, which all use graphic UIs and touch-screens, & are expensive and entirely sight dependant leaving them using outdated, basic devices. For them, smartphones have widened the divide between them and the seeing. A new solution is needed to bridge this gap.
Project Ray have developed BlindTouch, a smartphone UI that is automatically imposed across all system functions, applications and services. All features can be easily accessed due to the multiple input options enabling the visually impaired simple operation of their digital devices. In this way BT allows the blind and visually impaired community to effectively use smartphones as part of their daily lives, bringing benefits of smartphone technology into their hands. BT provides advanced services allowing users become a contributing member of society, without a reliance on care assistants and guide dogs. It is the only smartphone solution for the visually impaired that gives them access to the connected world at an extremely reduced price.
Following a promising Israeli pilot trial that led to paying subscribers for our prototype system, Ray intend to fully commercialize the solution by reaching the market in 2021. Incorporated in Israel in 2013 with €1.15M in funding and a staff headcount of 12.
The proposed work in Phase 1 of the SME instrument fits into the overall Project Ray plan to reach market by contributing the financial resources needed to plan a fast, sound and wider deployment of the solution and the market uptake. It will also allow the SME to accomplish key feasibility activities and reduce the business risks, such as business planning, customer identification and outreach, and stronger IP management strategy.
Fields of science
- natural sciencescomputer and information sciencesinternetworld wide webweb accessibility
- engineering and technologyelectrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineeringinformation engineeringtelecommunicationsmobile phones
- social scienceseconomics and businessbusiness and managementcommerce
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
SME-1 - SME instrument phase 1Coordinator
20692 YOKNEAM
Israel
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.