School of Engineering
The Eye
A series of iPhone applications, developed by students from the Diploma in Media & Communication Technology, in collaboration with the Singapore Association for the Visually Handicapped, will help the visually impaired to lead a more independent and meaningful life.
a) Colour Reader
This iPhone App is able to read the colour of any object, and broadcast it aloud to the user. Pre-programmed into the App are 100 different colours, each with a unique name such as red-orange, dark purple, or light pink. The user just needs to scan the object using the iPhone’s camera, and the colour will be announced aloud. If an exact match is not found, the program will use the next nearest colour, which would still be fairly accurate because of the large number of colours in the database.
Key Features
- Huge database of 100 different colours
- Able to find closest match of colours
- Highly accurate
b) Currency Detector
The visually handicapped need not worry about getting cheated, thanks to this App which can announce to them the value of dollar-notes. It works by detecting the pattern including the numeral on each note. The App only works for Sing-dollar notes, but can also be calibrated to read foreign currency.
Key Features
- Database can be updated with more currencies
- Combination of numeral and pattern recognition makes it highly accurate
c) Text Reader
This App is able to capture the image of the text, enhance its contrast and visibility, and display it on the screen in real time. The contrast and colour saturation can be adjusted to suit each person’s eye, by simply sliding one’s finger up or down the screen. A specially designed iPhone trolley allows users to glide the phone across the page. The user can also choose to activate the Optical Character Recognition (OCR) function, and have the text read out aloud.
Key Features
- Contrast enhancement makes it suitable for those with weak vision
- Reading trolley makes it a breeze to read text on paper
- Highly accurate
