{"110051":{"#nid":"110051","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Georgia Tech Develops Braille-Like Texting App","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EATLANTA - Feb. 17, 2012 -\u003C\/strong\u003E Imagine if smartphone and tablet users could text a note under the table during a meeting without anyone being the wiser. Mobile gadget users might also be enabled to text while walking, watching TV or socializing without taking their eyes off what they\u2019re doing.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech researchers have built a prototype app for touch-screen mobile devices that is vying to be a complete solution for texting without the need to look at a mobile gadget\u2019s screen.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cResearch has shown that chorded, or gesture-based, texting is a viable solution for eyes-free written communication in the future, making obsolete the need for users to look at their devices while inputting text on them,\u201d said Mario Romero, Postdoctoral Fellow in the School of Interactive Computing (IC) and the project\u2019s principal investigator.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe app, called BrailleTouch, incorporates the Braille writing system used by the visually impaired. It has been conceived as a texting tool for any of the millions of smartphone phone users worldwide.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEarly studies with visually impaired participants proficient in Braille typing have demonstrated that users can input at least six times the number of words per minute when compared to other research prototypes for eyes-free texting on a touch screen. Users reach up to 32 words per minute with 92 percent accuracy with the prototype app for the iPhone.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe are currently designing a study to formally evaluate BrailleTouch through both quantitative and qualitative methods,\u201d said Caleb Southern, an IC graduate student. \u201cWe will measure the typing speed and accuracy of visually impaired users and capture the feedback from study participants in areas such as comfort, ease of use and perceived value.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor sighted users, the research team is exploring how BrailleTouch could be a universal eyes-free mobile texting app that replaces soft QWERTY keyboards and other texting technologies.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cBrailleTouch is an out-of-the-box solution that will work with smartphones and tablets and allow users to start learning the Braille alphabet in a few minutes,\u201d said Romero. \u201cIt also reduces the need for expensive proprietary Braille keyboard devices, which typically cost thousands of dollars.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe researchers have designed BrailleTouch to address the limitations of soft keyboards, which do not provide tactile feedback, as well as physical keyboards, which often use small and numerous fixed buttons. BrailleTouch is the only iPhone app in existence that uses a six-finger chording process that replicates the traditional Braille keyboard.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe app uses a gesture-based solution by turning the iPhone\u2019s touchscreen into a soft-touch keyboard programmed for Braille and requiring only six keys, making it a practical solution for the limited screen real estate on smartphones.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe key feature of the BrailleTouch technology is the use of the six-key configuration so that the keyboard fits on the screen and users keep their fingers in a relatively fixed position while texting. This design allows users to hold their device with the screen facing away from them \u2013 cradling the device with their palms or pinkies and thumbs \u2013 and to type with a majority of their fingers, identical to typing Braille on a standard keyboard.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe team behind BrailleTouch is led by Romero and IC Professor Gregory Abowd, co-principal investigator. Former IC affiliate Brian Frey conceived the original idea and developed the first prototype and Southern created an improved design. They are conducting usability studies together with James Clawson, a Ph.D. candidate in IC, and Kate Rosier, a master\u2019s graduate in Digital Media and bachelor\u2019s graduate in Computational Media.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe research group has developed iPhone and iPad versions of BrailleTouch and is currently working on Android versions. The app recently won the MobileHCI 2011 competition for design at the MobileHCI conference in Stockholm, Sweden.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBrailleTouch will be demonstrated at the Abilities Expo-Atlanta 2012, taking place Feb. 17-19 at the Georgia World Congress Center. A video of BrailleTouch in action is available at the following link: \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=rIEO1bUFHsI\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=rIEO1bUFHsI\u003C\/a\u003E. For more information on BrailleTouch, please visit \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/brailletouchapp.com\/\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/brailletouchapp.com\/\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis project was supported in part by the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center for Wireless Technologies (Wireless RERC), which is funded by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR), United States Department of Education, under grant number H133E110002.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E###\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EContacts\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMichaelanne Dye\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECommunications Officer\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech College of Computing\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:mdye@cc.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Emdye@cc.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E404-783-7777\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Software eliminates need to look at mobile screen"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EATLANTA - Feb. 17, 2012 -\u003C\/strong\u003E Georgia Tech researchers have built a prototype app for touch-screen mobile devices that is vying to be a complete solution for texting without the need to look at a mobile gadget\u2019s screen. \u003Cem\u003ESource: Office of Communications\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Prototype app vying to be complete solution for texting without looking."}],"uid":"27174","created_gmt":"2012-02-17 09:52:04","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:11:44","author":"Mike Terrazas","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2012-02-17T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2012-02-17T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"110061":{"id":"110061","type":"image","title":"BrailleTouch","body":null,"created":"1449178201","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:30:01","changed":"1475894728","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:45:28","alt":"BrailleTouch","file":{"fid":"194063","name":"brailletouch.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/brailletouch_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/brailletouch_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":208614,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/brailletouch_0.jpg?itok=yU-buGv7"}}},"media_ids":["110061"],"groups":[{"id":"47223","name":"College of Computing"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"24091","name":"BrailleTouch"},{"id":"10028","name":"Disabilities Research"},{"id":"11002","name":"Gregory Abowd"},{"id":"4887","name":"GVU Center"},{"id":"11175","name":"Mario Romero"},{"id":"12739","name":"mobile devices"},{"id":"166848","name":"School of Interactive Computing"},{"id":"9198","name":"texting"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:mdye@cc.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EMichaelanne Dye\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E404-783-7777\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["mdye@cc.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}