Editing Assistive technology (section)

== Visual impairments ==
{{Main|Blindness#Management}}
Many people with serious visual impairments live independently, using a wide range of tools and techniques.  Examples of assistive technology for visually impairment include screen readers, screen magnifiers, Braille embossers, desktop video magnifiers, and voice recorders.

=== Screen readers ===
{{Main|Screen reader}}

Screen readers are used to help the visually impaired to easily access electronic information. These software programs run on a computer to convey the displayed information through voice ([[text-to-speech]]) or [[braille]] ([[refreshable braille display]]s) in combination with magnification for low vision users in some cases. There are a variety of platforms and applications available for a variety of costs with differing feature sets.

Some example of screen readers are Apple [[VoiceOver]], CheckMeister browser, [[Google TalkBack]] and [[Microsoft Narrator]]. 
[[File:English braille sample.jpg|thumb|Braille is a system of raised dots representing letters, numbers, punctuation, and words.]]

Screen readers may rely on the assistance of text-to-speech tools. To use the text-to-speech tools, the documents must be in an electronic form, which is uploaded as the digital format. However, people usually will use the hard copy documents scanned into the computer, which cannot be recognized by the text-to-speech software. To solve this issue, people often use [[Optical character recognition|Optical Character Recognition technology]] accompanied with text-to-speech software.

=== Braille and braille technology ===
{{Main|Braille}}
Braille is a system of raised dots formed into units called braille cells. A full braille cell is made up of six dots, with two parallel rows of three dots, but other combinations and quantities of dots represent other letters, numbers, punctuation marks, or words. People can then use their fingers to read the code of raised dots. Assistive technology using braille is called [[braille technology]].

=== Braille translator ===
{{Main|Braille translator}}
A braille translator is a computer program that can translate [[Ink painter|inkprint]] into braille or braille into inkprint. A braille translator can be an app on a computer or be built into a website, a smartphone, or a braille device.

=== Braille embosser ===
{{Main|Braille embosser}}
A braille embosser is, simply put, a printer for braille. Instead of a standard printer adding ink onto a page, the braille embosser imprints the raised dots of braille onto a page. Some braille embossers combine both braille and ink so the documents can be read with either sight or touch.

=== Refreshable braille display ===
{{Main|Refreshable braille display}}
A refreshable braille display or braille terminal is an electro-mechanical device for displaying braille characters, usually by means of round-tipped pins raised through holes in a flat surface. Computer users who cannot use a computer monitor use it to read a braille output version of the displayed text.

=== Desktop video magnifier ===
{{Main|Video magnifier}}
Desktop video magnifiers are electronic devices that use a camera and a display screen to perform digital magnification of printed materials. They enlarge printed pages for those with low vision. A camera connects to a monitor that displays real-time images, and the user can control settings such as magnification, focus, contrast, underlining, highlighting, and other screen preferences. They come in a variety of sizes and styles; some are small and portable with handheld cameras, while others are much larger and mounted on a fixed stand.

=== Screen magnification software ===
{{Main|Screen magnifier}}
A screen magnifier is software that interfaces with a computer's graphical output to present enlarged screen content. It allows users to enlarge the texts and graphics on their computer screens for easier viewing. Similar to desktop video magnifiers, this technology assists people with low vision. After the user loads the software into their computer's memory, it serves as a kind of "computer magnifying glass". Wherever the computer cursor moves, it enlarges the area around it. This allows greater computer accessibility for a wide range of visual abilities.

[[File:MAGic Large Print Keyboard.jpg|thumb|right|This large-print keyboard has tactile elements and special keys for the visually impaired.|alt=MAGic Large Print This MAGic large-print keyboard has tactile elements and special keys for the visually impaired]]

=== Large-print and tactile keyboards ===
A large-print keyboard has large letters printed on the keys.  On the keyboard shown, the round buttons at the top control software which can magnify the screen (zoom in), change the background color of the screen, or make the mouse cursor on the screen larger.  The "bump dots" on the keys, installed in this case by the organization using the keyboards, help the user find the right keys in a tactile way.

=== Navigation assistance ===
[[GPS for the visually impaired|Assistive technology for navigation]] has expanded on the [[IEEE Xplore]] database since 2000, with over 7,500 engineering articles written on assistive technologies and visual impairment in the past 25 years, and over 1,300 articles on solving the problem of navigation for people who are blind or visually impaired. As well, over 600 articles on augmented reality and visual impairment have appeared in the engineering literature since 2000. Most of these articles were published within the past five years{{When|date=February 2022}}, and the number of articles in this area is increasing every year. GPS, accelerometers, gyroscopes, and cameras can pinpoint the exact location of the user and provide information on what is in the immediate vicinity, and assistance in getting to a destination.

=== Wearable technology ===
{{Main|Wearable technology}}
Wearable technology are smart electronic devices that can be worn on the body as an implant or an accessory. New technologies are exploring how the visually impaired can receive visual information through wearable devices.<ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Pardes|first1=Arielle|title=The Wearables Giving Computer Vision to the Blind|url=https://www.wired.com/story/wearables-for-the-blind/|magazine=Wired|access-date=September 5, 2017}}</ref>

Some wearable devices for visual impairment include: [[OrCam device]], [[eSight]] and [[Brainport]].