Drexel Collaboration Leads to Apps for Visually Impaired From: Philadelphia Inquirer - 08/09/2012 By: Jeff Gelles Drexel University computer science students, as part of the VisAssist project, have developed mobile apps that help blind or visually impaired persons use computers and access the Internet. Three of the five apps, which work on Android devices, help the visually impaired use Facebook, Twitter, or Wikipedia. The other two apps feature a faster keyboard that works anytime a user needs to type and an enhanced magnifier that helps users read. "For me, personally, it was the option to do something good - to try to make a difference in people's lives," says Drexel student Nathan Vecchiarelli. The project, which was done in collaboration with the Overbrook School for the Blind, could inspire future developers to create more philanthropic applications, notes Drexel professor Jeff Salvage. The project won top honors among 135 engineering projects at Drexel. Overbrook teacher Stephanie Hays says Drexel's students worked closely with Overbrook's students to develop the apps. "The awesome part was right at the end, when the Drexel guys had the finished apps and the students were able to try them," Hays says. "The students were saying 'Oh, my goodness, I can read this.' 'Wow, I really like this.'" Read the entire article and view a video (0:43) at: http://articles.philly.com/2012-08-10/business/33119317_1_mobile-apps-drexel-students-drexel-professor Links: VisAssist Project http://www.visassist.org/ BinoBoard http://www.visassist.org/products/binoboard/ Overbrook School for the Blind http://www.obs.org/