It seems like every day, I am learning about a new iPhone app that is designed to be used as a tool to help a person who has a specific special need. Today, I read about an app that can be used by people who are visually impaired to identify the denomination of currency they are holding in their hand. It’s about time someone came up with that!
I find myself constantly amazed about how technology like the iPhone or iPad can be adapted to function in ways that assist a person who has a special need. I’ve written about schools that were using iPads with students who had autism. To do this, certain apps can be downloaded onto the iPad that are designed to help with communication between the child who has autism, and that child’s parents and teachers. Today I came across information about a different app that is an extremely useful tool for people who are blind or visually impaired.
A company called IPPLEX created something called iVisit SeeScan. This same company has released an app for the iPhone called the LookTel Money Reader. You can buy the app from iTunes for $1.99, and then download it onto your iPhone. To use this app, you point the iPhone’s camera at any paper U.S. Currency. The camera can identify what the bill is, and will say it, out loud, in a clear voice. It does this in real time, and does not require the user to take a photo of the currency, and wait around for it to connect to the app. The app can identify bills that are $1.00, $5.00, $10.00, $20.00, $50.00, and even $100.00.
Those that can see well can quickly glance at the money in their wallet, and pick out what they need. They usually know if they handed the sales clerk a $1.00 bill or a $10.00 bill, because they can see it. People who are visually impaired often struggle to differentiate between one bill and another. They look very similar, and there isn’t any way to identify one bill from another based on texture, alone.
The LookTel Money Reader app can help a visually impaired high schooler to pay for his lunch at school and quickly find the correct currency. It can help a person who cannot see the bills that come out of an ATM machine to be certain that the correct amount was dispensed. The app is inexpensive, and easy to use.
Image by espensorvik on Flickr