According to a Mar. 20 report in the “Cult of Mac”, a new camera app tells you what you're looking at. It's called “Tap Tap See” and it's designed for visually handicapped people. But it's useful for everyone.
Movies for the visually impaired have been available for years. These movies provide audio descriptions of what is happening on the screen so a visually handicapped person can, in effect, watch the movie. For example, “Oz the Great and Powerful” might begin with a voice saying “As the movie opens we see a solid while arc appear from right to left over Cinderella Castle. Under the castle is written the name 'Disney' in white letters”.
This free app does basically the same thing. Just point the camera and double-tap the screen for a photo of what the camera “sees”. A voice will confirm that a photo has been snapped and will identify it. For example, “Picture of Toshiba laptop” was the description I got when I snapped a picture of my laptop.
To use this app you'll need to set your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch to speak. You do this by going into Settings, General, Accessibility, VoiceOver and enabling VoiceOver.. VoiceOver is just one of many iOS services designed to aid the visually impaired.
As I mentioned earlier though, this app is useful for anyone who has ever asked the question, “What's this?”. So, the next time you come across something interesting, but don't know what it is, just turn on VoiceOver, open this app, snap a picture and you'll have your answer!
This app is compatible with iPhone 3GS+, iPad and iPod touch (3rd generation+) and is free.
We'll be back next time with more news and free apps for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch!
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