Entering a passcode on a smartphone can be difficult for the visually impaired. Because you can’t see the screen and you don’t know if someone is looking at it. The OneButtonPIN app is designed to help you by using vibration instead of visuals.
Created by scientists at the University of Waterloo in Canada and the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York, the prototype app aims to address the shortcomings of biometric systems as well as on-screen keypads. The latter can be hampered by variables such as lighting conditions. Additionally, it is difficult to update biometric “passwords” if a user’s face or fingerprints change.
OneButtonPIN bypasses such restrictions by starting with one big virtual button on your smartphone screen. When the user holds that button down, the phone begins to generate a series of vibrations, separated from each other by short pauses. These vibrations can be felt through the finger or thumb located on the screen, but are not audible.
To enter a specific number, the user counts the vibrations and releases the button when the corresponding number of vibrations occurs. The next number can be entered by simply pressing and holding the button again.
In a test of this technology, nine BLV (blind and partially sighted) volunteers were assigned to use an app to enter multiple randomly generated PINs (personal identification numbers). week. We found that the participant was able to enter her PIN with an average accuracy of 83.6%, compared with his 78.1% for the traditional method.
In a second test, 10 sighted volunteers watched a video of PIN entry using both the traditional method and the OneButtonPIN app. The participant was able to guess the PIN when using the traditional method, but he was not able to guess the PIN when using the app.
As an added benefit, it is believed that once OneButtonPIN becomes widely available, it may be used by sighted people as well.
“OneButtonPIN was designed for the BLV folks, but many users will appreciate the added security,” said Dr. Stacey Watson of Waterloo. She said, “Making things more accessible also makes things more usable for the average user.”
This app is described in a paper recently published in the journal ACM Proceedings on Human-Computer Interaction.
Source: University of Waterloo
