Article

iPhone offers EyeNote to help the blind and visually impaired

The free application utilizes the camera feature of the iPhone.

April 25, 2011

The United States Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) has developed a free application for the Apple iPhone and other Apple products that enables the blind and visually impaired to determine banknote denominations.

The application, which is called EyeNote, works when a blind or a visually impaired person holds a Federal Reserve Note up to the iPhone camera, said Darlene Anderson, spokesperson for the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, which produces Federal Reserve Notes. EyeNote scans the banknote and in a matter of seconds, it can tell the iPhone owner the banknote's denomination, Anderson said. EyeNote provides the information verbally or privately through a pulse pattern or vibrations. The application's privacy feature gives off one pulse for the $1 bill, two pulses for the $2 bill, three pulses for the $5 bill, four pulses for the $10 bill, five pulses for $20 bill, six pulses for the $50 bill and seven pulses for the $100 bill.

The Bureau of Engraving and Printing, which is based in Washington, D.C., developed EyeNote internally with the assistance of an unnamed vendor, Anderson said.

The EyeNote application is one way in which the Bureau of Engraving and Printing is making U.S. banknotes more accessible to the blind and visually impaired. In 2008, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., ordered that BEP must print banknotes so that blind and visually impaired consumers can easily access paper money.

The court's decision also affects banknotes dispensed by ATMs. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing is redesigning banknotes with raised tactile features that would make it easier for the blind and visually impaired to identify the paper money by touch. Not everyone is happy with the idea of tactile banknotes. Cardtronics Inc., the nation's largest non-bank ATM owner and operator, told bureau officials that dispensing tactile banknotes would be expensive.

The launch of EyeNote will not affect the ATM industry, Anderson said. EyeNote, however, revolutionizes how the blind and visually impaired can handle banknotes. Prior to EyeNote, the blind and visually impaired folded paper money in specific ways so they could distinguish between Federal Reserve Notes in their pockets, wallets or purses. 

"I think EyeNote will appeal to young people. I am not a young person, but they are into the new technology," Anderson said. EyeNote works with Apple iPhone 3G, 3Gs and 4, the fourth generation iPod Touch, and iPad2 platforms. It is available through the Apple iTunes App Store.

So far, 600 people have downloaded the EyeNote since it became available April 20, Anderson said. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing selected the iPhone as its first choice for the application because its research showed that more than 100,000 blind and visually impaired individuals own an iPhone.

It is not yet known if the Bureau of Engraving and Printing will develop similar applications for BlackBerry and Android phones.