Android’s New Accessibility Features
Google has two different accessibility features coming to Android called Camera Switches and Project Activate.
In a blog post, Google said the new features were “Built with feedback from people who use alternative communication technology.” The company continued, “Both of these tools use your phone’s front-facing camera and machine learning technology to detect your face and eye gestures.”
Camera Switches is a new part of Android’s Switch Access feature that turns your camera into a switch that detects facial gestures and uses them to navigate a smartphone. There are six different gestures—look right, look left, look up, smile, raise eyebrows, or open your mouth—that you can use to perform various actions on your phone.
The other new feature is called Project Activate, and it is a new Android application. It’ll let you use facial gestures to activate customized actions quickly. Some examples cited by Google include speaking a preset phrase, sending a text, or making a phone call. In creating the app, Google said it worked with “numerous people with motor and speech impairments and their caregivers.”
New Features Availability
Camera Switches will make their way to the Android Accessibility Suite this week and will be fully available by the end of the month.
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Project Activate is available for download now from the Play Store, so you can grab it and see how it can improve your ability to use your phone.
