What is Keynoa?
Keynoa offers solutions specifically developed for blind people to support their education and enhance their inclusion and accessibility. Keynoa tools include a hand wearable device “Keynoa Rings” and a mobile application “Keynoa App” allowing blind people to read and write in any language and also to sense colors, easily and naturally, simply with their fingers.
Based on the “Cherradi Method”, the characters of the digital text to read are converted to vibrations produced by the finger-rings of the Keynoa Rings wearable. The user, feeling the vibrations on the fingers, interprets them as characters and is therefore able to read them. Also with Keynoa Rings, the user produces characters, symbols, and commands, based on the Cherradi method, without a keyboard or equivalent, simply by making finger taps on a hard surface.
Keynoa App constitutes a platform, supporting Education and enhancing Inclusion and Accessibility, adapted to the real needs of the Blind and the Visually Impaired.
Keynoa offers effective means for blind children to be integrated into sighted children’s classrooms making them feel less excluded and benefiting from equal rights and opportunities.
Keynoa Rings hand wearable is particularly useful for deaf-blind people as it enables easy and comfortable communication with other people as well as with other devices, leaving the fingers simultaneously free for other activities.
Keynoa simplifies access to the Internet and allows users to read and send text messages privately and silently. Since their hearing sense is free while using Keynoa, the users continue to participate in the discussions and listen to the surrounding sounds, they are therefore less excluded in their social life.
Keynoa gives instant access to any book or document in digital form in any language. The user selects a digital book or document and sits back reading it and navigating it while drinking a coffee as the reading information flows simply and naturally to the fingers.
Seeing with the fingers
Keynoa converts to finger vibrations not only text but also other digital information like distance to objects, colors, and graphical images, such as maps or other educational graphics. With this unique approach, Keynoa introduces a novel concept allowing users to “see with their fingers.”
Using Keynoa Rings wearable the user senses, via vibrations on the fingers, the pixel colors of the points touched on the mobile phone screen.
With Keynoa Distance Senor the user feels object in the vicinity and evaluates their distance before touching them simply by recieving vibrations of the fingers.
With Keynoa blind students explore the content elements of graphical images, such as geographical maps, mathematical graphs, atoms’ structures, chemistry molecules, or other educational graphics.
(Following is a graphics image showing a hand wearing Keynoa Rings and touching the screen of a smartphone to learn the contents elements of graphics image illustrating the atom of Hydrogen and the atom of Helium)
(Following is a graphics image showing a map of Austria illustrating its borders and it prominent rivers, cities, lakes and mountain peaks all in different colors)
(Following is a graphics image showing basic mathematical graphs illustrating a circle, an ellipse, a parabola and a hyperbola in different colors)
The Cherradi method
The Cherradi method associates fingers to characters, symbols or commands; the user reads a character simply by receiving gentle vibrations on the corresponding fingers and also writes that character simply by producing taps naturally with the same fingers.
To write or read latin alphabet with Cherradi method:
- use successively the little finger followed again by the little finger for letter “a”
- use successively the little finger followed by the ring finger for letter “b”
- use the little finger followed by the middle finger for “c” etc., then
- use the right ring finger then the right little finger for “f” etc.,
for more information please click here.
(Following is a graphics image illustrating 26 pictograms. Each pictogram shows the 2 hands where the fingers associated to each of the 26 latin letters are marked with a red dot.)
Keynoa self-learning mode
Keynoa offers a self-learning functionality allowing the user to learn Cherradi method independently; it consists of a characters learning window and a colours learning window.
In the characters learning window the user learns, for writing and reading, which fingers are associated with the characters, the numbers and frequently used symbols.
In the colours learning window, the user learns which fingers are used for sensing the colours of the pixels touched on the smartphone screen.
(Following is a graphics image used in self-learning mode; it is showing 45 grey button representing latin alphabet, numerical digits and frequently used symbols)
(Following is a graphics image used in self-learning mode; it is showing 135 button representing different colors)
Keynoa App for Android devices is available on Play Store.
Keynoa does not transmit nor collect anything the user types nor any personal information.
Quick tutorial
For writing with Keynoa using the mobile phone screen, Keynoa invites you first to set the reference positions of your fingers by asking you to “Tap with 5 Fingers Simultaneously” on the screen. Do it in a comfortable and relaxed manner make sure all fingers are inside the mobile screen. You can write the text characters and symbols by producing finger taps on the screen following the Cherradi method.
Keynoa Rings is a comfortable hand wearable with five rings placed on each finger and a controller placed on the back of the hand. Using Keynoa App, the user connects Keynoa Rings to the phone via Bluetooth wireless connection. The user selects the text to read, then the fingers receive successively the vibrations corresponding to each character or symbol of the text. The user can sit back with the fingers immobile or do something else with the fingers while reading the text via fingers vibrations produced by Keynoa Rings.
Characters and Symbols
Tap successively with the indicated fingers to produce the corresponding character, symbol or command.
Similarly if you feel vibrations on the indicated finger then you be reading the corresponding character, symbol or command.
(Touch the image to enlarge)
Granting access to Keynoa App
For Keynoa App to run properly, the user needs to allow it to access on the used device the following functions:
- Connect via Bluetooth to Keynoa Rings,
- Have access to text content of other applications running on your phone,
- Have access to pixel colors of the screen of your phone ,
This does not mean that the Keynoa will collect sensitive personal information at all; as stated in its Privacy Policy, Keynoa does not transmit nor collect anything the user types nor any personal information.
Latin Alphabet Characters
(Following is a graphics image illustrating 26 pictograms. Each pictogram shows the 2 hands where the fingers associated to each of the 26 latin letters are marked with a red dot.)
Symbols & Commands
(Following is a graphics image illustrating 17 pictograms. Each pictogram shows one ore two hands where the fingers associated to the 17 symbols and commands are represented by combinations of red dots.)
Numerical Characters
(Following is a graphics image illustrating 11 pictograms. In each pictogram the fingers associated to digital numbers from 0 to 9 are marked with red dots)
Mnemonic Summary
(Following is a mnemonic pictogram illustrating the fingers associated to the latin letters and to the numerical digits)
Latin Alphabet Characters
(Following is a graphics image illustrating 26 pictograms. Each pictogram shows the 2 hands where the fingers associated to each of the 26 latin letters are marked with a red dot.)
Symbols & Commands
(Following is a graphics image illustrating 17 pictograms. Each pictogram shows one ore two hands where the fingers associated to the 17 symbols and commands are represented by combinations of red dots.)
Numerical Characters
(Following is a graphics image illustrating 11 pictograms. In each pictogram the fingers associated to digital numbers from 0 to 9 are marked with red dots)
Mnemonic Summary
(Following is a mnemonic pictogram illustrating the fingers associated to the latin letters and to the numerical digits)
Keynoa Privacy Policy
Your privacy is of great concern to Keynoa Technologies team.
Collection of Personal Information
Keynoa DOES NOT COLLECT ANY PERSONAL INFORMATION OR ANY INFORMATION THAT YOU TYPE using this app. When you allow full access for Keynoa, you may be warned that the can be used to “transmit anything you type, including things you have previously typed with this keyboard.” This is the standard warning message for all third-party input methods, however, Keynoa does not collect any personal information or transmit such information to a server or third party.
Disclosure of Personal Information
As Keynoa does not collect any personal information, your personal information is safe will not be disclosed to any third party.
Data Storage
Keynoa data (settings parameters) are stored on your device locally and do not contain any personal information.
Allow Full Access
Keynoa needs you to turn “Allow full access” on in order for it to appear on the screen. Keynoa will only display the text you write and no text or personal information will be stored.
Policy Changes
Any changes to this policy will be posted to an update of the App. You are advised to regularly view our most recent privacy policy
Keynoa team
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