Google is introducing several new accessibility-focused features for platforms like Android and ChromeOS, timed to Global Accessibility Awareness Day, May 16. At the top of the long list is the arrival of Project Gameface on Android.
If you’re not familiar, Gameface is software that allows people to use “head movements and facial gestures” to navigate a computer’s user interface. Until now, the software has been used to help people with disabilities, among other things, play video games. But thanks to the integration on Android, those same groups now have a new way to control their smartphones.
The company states that Gameface supports 52 different facial gestures that can be assigned to specific functions. For example, looking to the left can be used to select items on the screen, while raising your eyebrows can send you back to the home screen. The individual controls depend on how people have Gameface set up.
It is also possible to adjust the sensitivity of a function to determine “how prominent your gesture must be to” register an input. A slightly open mouth can be associated with one action, while a wider open mouth can work for another action. In the bottom corner you will see a live camera feed of yourself. Google says their team added the display so users can ensure they are making accurate facial gestures.
Project Gameface is open source and available for downlload on Github complete with instructions on how to set it up. Please note that for this the Android studio developer tool to configure it so you may need someone to help you.
Notable features
The rest of the features in the update may not be as individually impactful as Gameface, but together they become greater than the sum of their parts. Google’s Lookout app is getting a new search mode to help blind people locate real-world objects in seven different categories. It can tell where the tables are in a restaurant or where the door to the bathroom is. Users must hold their smartphone in front of them, and through the rear camera, Lookout’s AI tells you the “direction and distance” of an item or exit. Please note that Search mode is in beta so it may have some bugs.
Google Maps is undergoing a similar upgrade and will soon provide more details about the area around you. The app tells you the names of nearby places and how far you have to go to reach your destination.
Next, Android’s Look to Speak adds a text-free mode. In this mode, you can interact with the app’s voice feature by selecting emojis, symbols, and images. For example, a hand-waving emoji can be used to say “Hello.”
Chromebooks will also receive their own accessibility patch. Google gives owners a way to make the mouse cursor larger, and the screen magnification tool follows the words as you read them.
These are all the major updates coming to the Google platform; however, it is just the tip of the iceberg. Other minor upgrades include Google Maps on desktops, which indicate wheelchair-accessible entrances. Everything listed here is already live, except for the Chromebook changes, which will be rolled out in the coming weeks.
Google is not the tech giant that celebrates Global Accessibility Day. Apple recently unveiled multiple accessibility features including Eye Tracking, Vocal Shortcuts and Vehicle Motion Cues for its hardware; however, they won’t arrive until later this year. It’s not known exactly when they’ll be released, but they will most likely be made available as part of iOS 18, VisionOS 2, “and the next version of macOS.”
Check out Ny Breaking’s list of the best Android phones for 2024.