#visually-impaired — Public Fediverse posts

The following hashtags are trending across South African Mastodon instances:

#gpd
#micropc2
#freebsd
#ai
#visuallyimpaired
#worldhandhygieneday
#handhygiene
#cleanhandssavelives
#geopolitica
#petroleo

Based on recent posts made by non-automated accounts. Posts with more boosts, favourites, and replies are weighted higher.

The following hashtags are trending across South African Mastodon instances:

#southafrica
#groceries
#ai
#visuallyimpaired
#worldhandhygieneday
#handhygiene
#cleanhandssavelives
#telecommunications
#geopolitica
#petroleo

Based on recent posts made by non-automated accounts. Posts with more boosts, favourites, and replies are weighted higher.

AI can be a lifesaver for visually impaired people: https://retinasa.org.za/artificial-intelligence/?utm_source=MastodonAfrica

#AI #VisuallyImpaired

Japan's transport ministry has launched a training program to help people with visual impairments use white canes to navigate railway station platforms safely, as part of efforts to prevent falls and other accidents. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/04/27/japan/society/visually-impaired-platform-training/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #society #rail #visuallyimpaired #jreast #disability

Shirtless visually impaired protesters block Shimla road, clash with police, demand backlog jobs urgently https://english.mathrubhumi.com/multimedia/videos/shimla-visually-impaired-protest-918-days-iut7pl4f?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon #ShimlaProtest #HimachalPradesh #VisuallyImpaired #JobBacklog

Any #Blind or #VisuallyImpaired #Threads users experiencing this particular bug?

https://www.applevis.com/forum/ios-ipados/threads-app-issue-ios

Robot Dog Promises Smarter Navigation for Visually Impaired

Robbie the RoboGuide, a new robot dog from Glasgow University, uses AI and sensors to help visually impaired people navigate and interact. Expected in 3-5 years.

#RoboGuide, #VisuallyImpaired, #AI, #Glasgow, #AssistiveTech

https://newsletter.tf/glasgow-robot-dog-robbie-ai-visually-impaired-help/

Glasgow University's new robot dog, Robbie, uses AI for navigation. This is a big step up from current guide tools.

#RoboGuide, #VisuallyImpaired, #AI, #Glasgow, #AssistiveTech
https://newsletter.tf/glasgow-robot-dog-robbie-ai-visually-impaired-help/

TapType v1.1 is out. Big update.
Action mode. You can now move the cursor, select text, copy, cut, and paste — all without leaving TapType. Swipe left/right to move, swipe up/down to change granularity (character, word, sentence, line, document). Tap to toggle selection mode. Two-finger swipes for clipboard. Spaces, punctuation, and capitals are all announced properly when navigating by character.
Clipboard mode. Browse your clipboard history and paste from it. It only captures what's on the clipboard when the keyboard opens — no background listener, no spying.
Autocomplete. Word prediction no longer requires you to tap every letter. After a few taps it suggests longer words that match what you've typed so far. It also suggests shorter words in case you hit an extra key.
Spell-out. After announcing a word, TapType spells it out character by character — helpful for homophones like their/there/they're. Configurable delay, can be turned off.
Punctuation rework. Punctuation commits instantly now. Swipe up/down to cycle through options, swipe right again to chain them (!!!, ?!, etc.).
Other stuff: "I" is always capitalized, delete-by-word instead of character, full screen hide keyboard fix, and various bug fixes.
Download: https://github.com/aaron-gh/taptype-releases/releases/tag/v1.1
#TapType #Accessibility #A11y #Android #Blind #VisuallyImpaired #TalkBack #Keyboard #AssistiveTech

TapType is out. It's a keyboard for blind Android users.
There are no visible keys. You tap where QWERTY keys would be from muscle memory, and a spatial prediction algorithm figures out what you meant. It scores nearby keys using a Gaussian proximity model and runs a beam search against an 80,000 word dictionary. You don't need to be precise. That's the whole point.
Swipe right to commit a word. Swipe down or up to cycle through suggestions. Swipe left to delete. It learns what words you use most and ranks them higher over time, and you can add your own words to a personal dictionary.
Every letter has its own unique sound, from Andre Louis's keyboard sound recordings, so you can learn to identify keys by ear without relying on speech. Each swipe direction has a distinct sound too. TTS is there when you want it, adjustable speed, and you can turn it off entirely if you prefer sounds only.
It has emoji search with skin tone selection and favourites, a number pad mode, an upper case mode, and full punctuation support with a customizable quick list. Two-finger gestures handle things like send, close keyboard, switch keyboard, and voice input.
Everything works with TalkBack. I built this because FlickType was a fantastic keyboard for blind iOS users and then it was gone. Nothing like it existed on Android, so I made one.
It's free, no ads, no tracking, no metrics. I'm not evil.

Edit: Now on 2.0 with multiple languages supported.

If you find TapType useful, consider supporting its development:
https://paypal.me/aaronhewitt
https://github.com/sponsors/aaron-gh
https://liberapay.com/fireborn/

Download: https://github.com/aaron-gh/taptype-releases/releases/latest
#TapType #Accessibility #A11y #Android #Blind #VisuallyImpaired #TalkBack #Keyboard #AssistiveTech

I'm really wondering why Fighting Blindness Canada is hosting an event for people who are #VisuallyImpaired and the location they chose is 1.6km from the closest bus stop. Check out the #accessibility of the ACT Rec Centre in #yeg.

@lhgmk2 Don't let the cynicism overtake your heart, my friend. I understand your views on alt texts, but at the same time, visually impaired people do exist.

#AltTexts #VisuallyImpaired

Is it true, that visually impaired people have a hard time, with reading hashtags?

#visuallyimpaired

From learning Braille in childhood to mastering Python code, Vraj Mukeshbhai Tank’s journey is a powerful reminder that disability is not inability. The 19-year-old from Junagadh wins national coding honours and inspires a generation of aspiring tech professionals. https://english.mathrubhumi.com/multimedia/videos/visually-impaired-student-national-python-coding-competition-wjafp9hq?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon #VrajTank #VisuallyImpaired #Coding #Gujarat #DivyangShakti

Re last boost, if you are making alt text, make it descriptive. You want visually impaired people to engage with your posts, be inclusive about it. You took the time to put alt text on your picture which obviously means you care in some fashion about accessibility. The truth of it is though, a simple sentence repeating the text of your post, isn't a description. Don't just tell us this is a bird, or this is a flower. Even if you identify the species, that does not give a blind viewer an idea of what is being shown, unless the person has felt the flower or had that flower or bird described to them.
Even if you don't use AI to help describe your picture, which we understand how controversial AI usage is, there are other ways to help improve your descriptions. Consider the color of the flower, the way the bird is moving, the way a cat's face looks or how your fluffy furball is positioned in the photo. Highlight those details, rather than reusing the vvague text of the post, and putting said vague text in the alt text box as a placeholder. Be respectful to those that need accessibility and desire inclusivity.
-- Altheda
#AltText #pictures #descriptions #accessibility #inclusivity #VisuallyImpaired #blindness

Oh how I wish @F1 would put the car numbers on the halo so we can tell whose car we're on board with, also the number should be on the shark fin at the back, on the nose & on the rear end plate of the rear wing. Not everyone has 20/20 vision.
The live timing app needs a huge amount of work to.
#VisuallyImpaired #PutTheNumbersOnTheHalo #F1 #NotInclusive

More than 94 million people suffer from cataracts, but half of them do not have access to the surgery needed to fix it, the World Health Organization said Wednesday. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/02/11/world/science-health/cataract-surgery-access-who/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #worldnews #sciencehealth #cataracts #visuallyimpaired #us #who

Since Japan signed the U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2007, inclusive education for those with and without disabilities has been growing steadily there. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/02/09/japan/society/japan-inclusive-education/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #society #education #aichi #nagoya #disability #visuallyimpaired #specialeducation #studyabroad

Question for those who are familiar with Alternative Text for the blind and visually impaired:

When creating Alternative Text for an image of an informational sign such as for a hiking trail, how verbose should it be?

Be My Eyes does a good job with just images and/or a small amount of text, but for informational signs the text can be quite long. I am concerned if I trim too much then valuable information will be lost.

Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments ~ Jim

#AltText #AlternativeText #ImageDescription #Accessibility #AccessibleImage #Blind #VisuallyImpaired
#Alt4Me / #Alt4You

Fighting #Blindness Canada is trying to connect people with similar eye diseases IRL. One in #yeg is at an #inaccessible rec centre. The closest bus stop is 2.5km away. If you go, you must be driven there. #motonormativity #disability #VisuallyImpaired

64-year-old woman has been going blind for nearly 50 years. AI glasses just helped her 'see' again.

https://web.brid.gy/r/https://www.upworthy.com/ai-glasses-help-blind-woman-see

Vojtux – Unofficial Linux Distribution Aimed at Visually Impaired Users

https://github.com/vojtapolasek/vojtux

#HackerNews #Vojtux #VisuallyImpaired #LinuxDistribution #Accessibility #OpenSource #TechForGood

🎉 Breaking news, everyone! A visually impaired farmer uses... wait for it... #LEGO 🧱 to design a farm. Because, you know, if you can't see it, just build it with tiny plastic bricks! 🙄 Bravo, #BBC, for delivering the hard-hitting journalism we all desperately needed. 🤦‍♂️
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4g4zlyqnr0o #BreakingNews #Farming #VisuallyImpaired #Innovation #HackerNews #ngated