INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Android has received a wealth of accessibility features over the last couple of years, but one that has been left to third-party
developers is a way for blind users to type using braille
That changes today with Android new built-in braille keyboard, which should soon be available as an option on all phones running version 5
and up of the OS.
Braille is a complex topic in the accessibility community, as in many ways it has been supplanted by voice recognition,
screen readers and other tools
But many people are already familiar with it and use it regularly — and after all, one can&t always chat out loud.
Third-party braille
keyboards are available, but some cost money or are no longer in development
And because the keyboard essentially has access to everything you type, there are security considerations as well
So it best for the keyboard you use to be an official one from a reputable company
Google will have to do!
(Apple, it must be said, has had a braille keyboard like this one for years that plugs into its OS other
It can be activated using the instructions here.)
Google details AI work behind Project Euphonia more inclusive speech recognition
The new
keyboard, the company writes in a blog post, was created as a collaboration with various users and developers of braille software, and
should be familiar to anyone who used something like it in the past.
The user holds the phone in landscape mode, with the screen facing away
from them, and taps the regions corresponding to each of the six dots that form letters in the braille alphabet
It works with Android TalkBack function, which reads off words the user types or selects, so like any other writing method errors can be
quickly detected and corrected
There are also some built-in gestures for quickly deleting letters and words or sending the text to the recipient or selected
field.
Instructions for activating the braille keyboard are here
Right now it only available in English, but more languages will likely be added in the near future.
