New Apple Patent for People with Motor Disabilities

Apple was recently granted a patent titled “interface scanning for disabled users” that will allow motor-impaired users to navigate computer interfaces and electronic devices such as MacBooks, iPads, or iPhones using assistive technology.

Ian MacKay, in a wheelchair with an iPhone camera pointed towards a waterfall. The text in the image reads" Taking a Photo with Switch Control Assistive Technology from Apple."
Ian MacLay showing him Switch Control from Apple

Apple has worked on new ways to allow a user with a disability to control an iPhone or iPad.

Examples of these user inputs include a breath sensor to measure air pressure blown in to a straw to select items on a screen, an image sensor to detect movement such as blinking, an IR proximity sensor to detect objects within a certain distance from the sensor, and an audio sensor to detect a sound having a predetermined characteristic, such as volume or pitch.

Apple’s new patent will tremendously improve accessibility to their users with motor disabilities.

More about Apple’s accessibility patent