Leverage machine learning on your iPhone to translate Braille with this free app

If you ever thought about learning Braille or just wanted to quickly translate something written in UEB to your iPhone, there’s a new app that can help you with that.

Software engineer Aaron Stephenson started learning Braille a few years ago. To put his knowledge into practice, he built an app using CoreML and Vision to find Braille. Now, he has just released an app that can translate Braille (and more) using just your iPhone.

Braille Scanner allows users to take a photo of a piece of paper with Braille on it using their iPhones and then within seconds, it’s translated to text.

The developer explains his intention behind the project and also the limitations so far:

Braille Scanner was created to help transcribe from Braille to text. It uses a combination of machine learning and vision to do this. The current transcribing model uses Unified English Braille, grade 1, and I’m planning on adding more in the coming app updates.

Here are the top features of Braille Scanner for iPhone users:

• Auto document scan;
• Braille translation using Unified English Braile (UEB), grade 1;
• Braille/texto to speech;
• Export tranlated text;
• Export Braille chracters;
• Seventeen different app icons.

Since the app just launched, the developer asks for feedback whether users find incorrectly translated braille, so he can build a more accurate machine learning model.

Braille Scanner requires iOS 14.7 or later. It’s free to download and you can find it here on the App Store.

What do you think of this initiative? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.

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