It wasn't all that long ago that we saw a student turn a tablet into a Braille writer, and now some researchers from Georgia Tech have done the same thing for smaller touchscreens, too. The Yellow Jackets produced a prototype app, called BrailleTouch, that has six keys to input letters using the Braille writing system and audio to confirm each letter as it's entered. To use the app, you simply turn the phone face down, hold it in landscape mode and start typing. As you can see above, it's currently running on an iPhone, but the researchers see it as a universal eyes-free texting app for any touchscreen. Early studies with people proficient in Braille writing show that typing on BrailleTouch is six times faster than other eyes-free texting solutions -- up to 32 words per minute at 92 percent accuracy. Skeptical of such speeds? Check out the PR and video of the app in action after the break.

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Georgia Tech researchers turn an iPhone into a Braille writer with BrailleTouch app originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 18 Feb 2012 20:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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