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Keyflow
It is an alternative to smartphone keyboards, eliminating the barriers of visually looking at a screen to type, search or text, this is especially beneficial to Blind/ Visually impaired individuals.
The letters, numbers and special characters coded in a loop, where users can type out short sentences by using pre defined gestures to type out a sentence.
Funded by
Google
National Science Foundation (NSF)
Team Members
4 designers
2 developers
Mentored by Dr. Davide Bolchini
My Contributions to the project and its impact
1. Simplified the gesture library: 28% reduction in the number of gestures required to learn the system.
2. Reduction in the number of steps required to complete a task: 65% Increase in efficiency by reducing the number of modes required to perform a typing task.
3. Bringing efficiency in typing: Reduced overall typing time by 2 minutes and 20 seconds for a smoother user experience.
How might we redesign smartphone keyboards to function without a screen, catering to the typing challenges experienced by visually impaired individuals on conventional smartphone?
Imagine this....
Lara, a 25-year-old graduate student at Indiana University, gracefully maneuvers through a world full of challenges despite her total vision loss. Balancing her phone, cane, and guide dog, she faces numerous obstacles daily.
What are some of the challenges she faces?
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For texting Lara uses VoiceOver, which relies heavily on screen interactions by tapping and multi-finger gestures.
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Privacy? Gone. Everyone around her can listen to what she is typing.
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She lives with the constant worry that someone might snatch her brand new iPhone right from her hands.
Image Description: A visually impaired person walking the streets with a cane on one of their hand and a dog on the other
How can we enhance Lara's texting experience for a smoother and more private user experience?
Introducing Keyflow:
Video Description: The video shows a user typing the sentence '535 W Michigan' using gestures and modes such as auto-suggestions and hopping.
The above video showcases a version of the implementation of the auditory keyboard, Keyflow where BVI (Blind and Visually Impaired) individuals use gestures to type out messages and get auditory feedback. It is a Text-to-Speech aural loop with three primary modes- Alphabet mode (A-Z), Number mode (0-9) and Special character mode.
How can Lara use this system?
Step 1: Wear the Tapstrap on your dominant hand.
Step 2: Pair the Tapstrap with a mobile device.
Step 3: Tap to activate the modes.
Lara would have to learn 9 simple gestures
What if Lara accidentally spelled "DATE" as "DAE,", can she correct it? Yes, here is how..
Image Description: The image shows a user inserting the letter T in DAE to rewrite it as DATE
Breaking down the design journey
It was observed that the earlier version of Keyflow required significantly more time than Voiceflow, prompting optimization to achieve comparable performance.
Where was the time lag coming from?
Results were based on testing results from expert and novice users
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Areas of Exploration in the new version:
Find ways to sift through an array of characters faster.
Gesture Simplification
Cognitive
Load Reduction
Effort Reduction
Streamlining the elaborate list of modes.
Is Lara benefiting from the design?
Yes, here is why..
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My Learnings
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The project taught me the importance of testing in real-world environments, as most of our tests were conducted in a lab setting. In the future, I would like to evaluate the system in various environmental conditions to understand how surrounding distractions affect task performance time.
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Initially, I concentrated on reducing the time taken by Keyflow to match that of VoiceOver. However, throughout the project, I realized that Keyflow is designed to complement, not replace, VoiceOver. These are distinct systems, each with its own unique impact.
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