How Siri helps a blind man use Instagram

Tommy Edison is like everyone else hooked on Instagram. Edison like to take pictures, use the color filters to customize his photographs, and add captions before posting his pictures. But there is one thing that makes Mr. Edison different from other Instagram users besides his famous name (you never heard of Thomas Edison?), and that is the fact that he is blind.

How can a blind man use the app? Edison posted on YouTube a video tutorial on how it is accomplished. Using both the voiceover capabilities of the Apple iPhone along with Siri, Edison can find out where his finger lies on the screen. The new version of iOS helps those with a visual handicap by making a sound when a face is detected. That allows the photographer to be sure that his subject is in the screen.

It is a fascinating process that shows how today's mobile technology can be accessed by anyone and how this technology allows those with severe handicaps to live a "normal" life.

source: YouTube, Kottke via TUAW