Mastering everyday life: How technology helps the visually impaired
According to an estimate by the Gutenberg Health Study, almost nine percent of Germans are affected by age-related macular degeneration (AMD). AMD is therefore the most common cause of visual impairment and even blindness in old age. At the same time, many technical innovations help people with visual impairments to cope with everyday life. Many people already have an all-rounder with them – the smartphone.
Reading with your fingers – Braille
But let's start from the beginning: Braille has been one of the most important tools for giving blind people access to knowledge and education since 1825 - when it was developed by Louis Braille, who was only 16 at the time. Reading independently offers much more intensive access to texts than would be possible by simply listening - and you don't need a reader. So-called Braille lines can be connected to the computer and display the screen text line by line in Braille. This also enables blind people to work independently on the computer. The distinctive Braille also helps blind and visually impaired people to find their way around in public spaces, whether as signposts in train stations or as labels for the buttons on ticket machines. However, a technical innovation in machines in particular is leading to the exclusion of blind people. More and more devices are being equipped with touch displays. However, the completely smooth surfaces are also completely unreadable with fingers.
Barrier-free working through inclusive software solutions
While some technical innovations represent a hurdle for people with visual impairments, the home PC is one of the most important means of social participation. Your own computer provides access to a wide variety of social networks, serves as a source of information and can also be a fully-fledged workplace. Screen readers are available for visually impaired people; these are software that translates screen content into speech. People with residual vision can use programs that display screen content at a greatly enlarged size. Many professional office applications are designed to be operated with the mouse, by clicking on input windows or selection tools. But the computer mouse is useless for blind people, and using the programs is often cumbersome and inefficient. Some software manufacturers have specialized in precisely this area and develop programs that are tailored to the needs of blind people. They enable blind people to work as efficiently as their sighted colleagues.
Practical household helpers for the blind and visually impaired
The use of modern technology also offers completely new ways of helping in the home. Small, handy color recognition devices can 'read' colors and reproduce them via voice output. Different colors are reproduced in the most easily understandable way possible. Instead of using a fashionable term like chestnut, a color would then be described as a dark red with a high proportion of brown. This makes it easier to find clothes in the closet that match the color. The shopping fox is similarly helpful. This useful helper can recognize barcodes on packaging and, thanks to an extensive database, assign them and read out the contents. This means that shopping can be done without any outside help. The user can also find items in their own cupboard. Other practical helpers for the home are:
- talking scales, clocks and calculators
- coin sorter
- electronic level indicators for containers
- Pill boxes with alarm and confusion-proof compartments
How Technology Replaces Vision
The OrCam MyEye is a real all-rounder. It is a small camera that clips discreetly onto the temples of your glasses. It can recognize text on displays, signs or books and read it out via a small loudspeaker. The device can also recognize banknotes, read barcodes on packaging and assign colors. It can even recognize faces, objects and buildings. Only the smartphone offers more functions. At the end of November 2017, MyEye was included in the list of aids of the statutory health insurance according to §139 SGB V. Health insurance companies therefore cover the not inconspicuous costs of legal blindness. In the case of people with legally severe visual impairment, health insurance companies make a case-by-case decision.
Most functions for the visually impaired: The smartphone
Modern smartphones can perform many of the tasks mentioned above: Most devices already have voice input and voice output built in. This can also be combined with control via simple finger gestures. People with residual vision can also use the combination of camera and display as a magnifying glass. The smartphone can play audio books, read content from the Internet and receive or write emails. It can also be used as a navigation system. However, the smartphone requires active Internet access for most functions. And perhaps the biggest drawback: older people in particular often have inhibitions about climbing this mountain of technology. Associations such as the General Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired in Berlin offer help. Those affected can not only find extensive information about aids there, but the associations often also offer interested parties courses on how to use technical devices more easily.
Technology supports participation in everyday life
Blind or visually impaired people often have to deal with obstacles in everyday life that sighted people don't even notice. Choosing clothes that match the color, finding the right coins and banknotes, or pouring a glass of juice without it spilling. Not to mention access to media such as books, newspapers and television. People who acquired a visual impairment late in life, for example due to age-related macular degeneration, find it particularly difficult to overcome the hurdles of everyday life. A helping hand is not always available, nor do people want to be constantly dependent on the help of others. But many technical innovations can help visually impaired people to regain some of their independent lives.
External sources
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