Google announced accessibility features for Android that include facial gesture controls and handwriting recognition accessibility. The tech giant has also launched a new application called Project Activate specifically for those who don’t speak or have neurological conditions. Its purpose is to make it easier for the users to communicate with other people.
Google announced accessibility features to make people’s life easier
People who have impaired motor and speech functions can use their phones easily by using the newly launched features. The Camera Switch feature – a part of the android accessibility suite – will enable users to navigate their phones using facial gestures such as raising eyebrows, smiling, looking up, and many more. It is a tool that replaces a keyboard or mouse or touching of the phone screen with facial gestures. Users can choose and customize the gestures according to their liking, the new feature can be activated from Android Accessibility settings.
Google has introduced handwriting recognition to its Lookout app. The app lets you point your phone at stuff and have your phone describe it, covering a range from reading physical documents to describing food labels so you can sort the jars lying in the pantry. The handwriting recognition feature will help visually impaired or blind individuals. The feature can read out handwritten and printed text in Latin-based languages. Lookout app can recognize Euro and Indian Rupee in currency mode, with Google planning to add support for more currencies for its growing global audience in the future.
Project Activate
A newly designed Google app – Project Activate- is specifically made for people with neurologic disorders or speech impairment. The app uses facial gestures and eye movements to send a text message, make a phone call, play a text-to-speech phrase, play audio to express yourself or control a smart speaker, and more functions. The app is currently available in the UK, US, Canada, and Australia.
Read more: Google is looking to develop a ‘Switch to Android’ iOS app to easily migrate data from an iPhone
