Apple Patents Graphical Interface For The Visually Impaired

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Apple was granted a patent on Tuesday related to a GUI modified for disabled users of iOS devices and MacBooks.

Entitled “Devices, Methods & GUI’s for Accessibility using a Touch-Sensitive Surface,” the patent describes several methods for allowing a person with impaired vision to use a touch-sensitive surface, including a touch screen display or a track pad.

The patent contains many of the tools Apple has been working on under its Accessibility functionality, which debuted with iOS 3.0 in 2009.

The patent document begins by noting that the increasing ubiquity of touch devices proves a challenge to blind or partially-sighted users, but that Apple is confident that it has come up with a solution.

It then describes several ways in which its interface can adapt to be suitable for blind or partially-sighted users, such as recognizing non-location based gestures that would build on Apple’s Multi Touch technology, or easily magnifying certain parts of the screen to make them easier to read.

Apple points out that while the technology could apply to blind users, it could just as easily be used by sighted users who want to control their Apple device without looking at the screen.

The “Devices, Methods & GUI’s for Accessibility using a Touch-Sensitive Surface” patent names iOS Accessibility gurus Eric Seymour and Chris Fleizach as its co-inventors. It was filed September 23, 2009.

Source: U.S. Patents & Trademark Office

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