Our goal was to create a mobile phone that is suitable for visual impaired people. It should be usable by people with bad eyesight and blind people. Additionally it should be accessible by everyone with a visual handicap. (Only 20% of blind people can read Braille language).
Our system is based on regular smart phones. There is no need for tactile feedback since a feedback is given by acoustic signals. We simplified the menu to list structures and created clearly recognizable input gestures.
We build a prototype and tested it with volunteers at a school for blind people. After a 60 second instruction, most test persons where able to access all functions, and even write messages with astonishing speed. They told us that learning to type on an basic iPhone takes weeks for them.
We were all delighted how good our prototype performed and hope our results will find use in tomorrows mobile systems.