For caregivers working with senior clients who have visual impairments, tasks as simple as moving around the house to find something can take significantly longer. An app called TapTapSee is designed to offer more independence to the visually impaired by identifying objects using the phone’s camera.
The app design and usage of TapTapSee is basic yet effective. As soon as users open the app, they find themselves at a screen where they can aim their phone camera at an object, take a picture and hear a detailed description of the item using the VoiceOver function on their phone.
The test photos I took using the app came back with accurate and detailed descriptions of the items. Beyond simply identifying that an item in a picture is a watch, the app goes a step further and describes the color, design and brand of the watch all from seeing a photo of the face. Likewise, it correctly identified a brand and color of nail polish when I pointed my camera at that. It even closely described a photo of a ceramic box detailed with skulls around the edges.
If multiple items appear in a photo, the app also identifies every item in the photo. Users could take a photo of a table top and quickly hear if the item they’re searching for is laid out on that table. Most photos seem to take ten seconds or less to identify, making this app effective for real time use in the home. The camera focused the photos well, even during slow movement, so clarity shouldn’t be an issue.
The downside, however, is that the app doesn’t store past searches to revisit later. While most users only need the information once in real time, having the photos stored could help them show a caregiver a photo of an item they need again at a later date or recall where a specific item was left the last time they searched for it.
Users do also have the ability to use their photo library to import a photo into the app for identification. The app offers new users 100 free photo identifications each, and after that point users can purchase packages for more identifications.
The TapTapSee app is available for Apple and Android products.
Senior caregivers, let us know your feedback on this app and keep us posted if you discover additional apps that assist with caregiving duties and help relieve caregiver stress. You may also refer-a-friend to a senior caregiving job and win prizes weekly and monthly on Caregiverlist.
