Zainab Azizi
April 9, 2025
The Dot Pad uses AI to analyze images and split them into segments. These segments are then reproduced on a tactile screen so that blind people can read and interact with them. Users can access more than 2.2 million apps, including entertainment from TV shows to comic books.
For the first time, visually impaired people can also access anything on the internet. Just like a standard tablet, you can zoom, tilt, and rotate images and reproduce it on the tactile display to see what's there.
The Dot Pad has huge implications for work. Visually impaired people can often struggle to interpret graphical material, such as graphs, charts, or diagrams. Tactile books are expensive and often hard to come by, and audio descriptions don't always work for complex topics. On the Dot Pad, this material is easily and quickly accessible.
In addition to the Dot Pad, there are other innovations that are making life easier for the visually impaired. Google has released a feature that helps blind people take selfies.
Guided Frame tells you to move your phone up, down, left, or right. The phone vibrates when it's in the right place. Honda has also created shoes that buzz to tell blind wearers which direction to go.
Zainab Azizi
April 9, 2025