Description of App
Are you curious to see how color blind people see the world? Download this app. Or if you're color blind, help is available. Just download this app.
Do not mistake this app for other color blind apps. Color De Blind not only shows you what it is like to be color blind, but it also modifies live video to help color blind people see the real world in ways they haven't before.
Color De Blind harnesses the graphics processor within your cell phone to run advanced color manipulation algorithms. These algorithms have existed on computers for some time, but have had limited utility to color blind people in the real world. Now, Color De Blind allows you to go anywhere your iPhone can go while experiencing colors in live, full-motion video.
Running these algorithms is no easy task, but finally the iPhone is able to make sense of a colorful, yet confusing environment. For every pixel your camera can see, the algorithms have to do 30 to 40 advanced algebraic problems. Just imagine taking 40 math tests for each one of the millions of pixels from your camera. Then imagine that Color De Blind is doing all those tests 30 times per second to show you a live video.
"This app will change the lives of color blind people in ways that no medical advancement has ever been able to. It's convenient, practical, and more importantly, useful to people who had previously been unable to distinguish between various colors. Aside from it's medical implications, it's also really helpful in showing people who are not color blind how debilitating and frustrating the condition can be." -Samantha Harris, M.D.
"Holy crap. That is amazing. I can see things I could never see before." - Tony D. (red-green color blind)
Accessibility Comments
Button labeling could be better in places - for example, the buttons labeled "next photo" and "reply" are actually just 'back' buttons - but after a few minutes with the app you should have figured out what everything does and given these buttons more meaningful labels.
Other than this minor issue, real-time color recognition works fine with VoiceOver. It might be nice if VoiceOver announced colors as you pan your camera, but I suspect that there will be people who prefer a less verbose approach and are happy to tap the screen when they want to know a color.