title: S-K Smartphone Barcode Reader for the Blind.
abstract: We describe a new smartphone app called BLaDE (Barcode Localization and Decoding Engine), designed to enable a blind or visually impaired user find and read product barcodes. Developed at The Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute, the BLaDE Android app has been released as open source software, which can be used for free or modified for commercial or non-commercial use. Unlike popular commercial smartphone apps, BLaDE provides real-time audio feedback to help visually impaired users locate a barcode, which is a prerequisite to being able to read it. We describe experiments performed with five blind/visually impaired volunteer participants demonstrating that BLaDE is usable and that the audio feedback is key to its usability.
authors.affiliation: The Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute, 2318 Fillmore St. San Francisco, CA 94115.
authors.forename: Ender
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tekin
authors.affiliation: The Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute, 2318 Fillmore St. San Francisco, CA 94115.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Vásquez
authors.affiliation: The Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute, 2318 Fillmore St. San Francisco, CA 94115.
authors.forename: James M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Coughlan
keywords: Visual impairment; assistive technology; blindness; product identification