Re-imagining Keyboard Shortcuts for Visually Impaired Children in Schools
Gestural Interfaces
Project type
Interaction Design
Project date
09 April 2024
Project duration
1.5 months
This project explored how visually impaired students interact with computers in classrooms, where reliance on memorized shortcuts, screen readers, and outdated equipment created barriers. Our aim was to design an assistive interface that reduces cognitive load while making digital learning more inclusive.
Research & Site Visit
We visited the School for Blind and Visually Impaired Children by SEALab Architects (Anand Sonecha), Gandhinagar, Gujarat to understand the environment, teaching practices, and daily challenges faced by students.
Spaces & Senses: The school’s architecture itself leveraged sensory design - light, sound, textures, and aromas guided movement.
Observations: Younger children often collided in hallways due to low spatial awareness, while older students relied heavily on recording devices to capture lectures.
Key Findings
Rapid voice commands from screen readers were overwhelming.
Low awareness of Braille keyboards made them underutilized.
Keyboard shortcuts were confusing, demanding heavy memorization.
Outdated tech limited effective teaching and learning.
Design Opportunity
We identified an opportunity to simplify computer interactions by re-imagining shortcuts not as abstract key combos, but as tactile and gestural actions tailored for visually impaired students.
Solution: Micro Keyboard
We designed a compact Braille-enabled keyboard with:
10 essential shortcuts to reduce memorization load.
Braille keys (0-9) for recognition.
Touchpad for gesture recognition, bridging tactile input with digital navigation.
Toggle switch to move between numbers and shortcut modes.
Prototyping & Proof of Concept
Built functional prototypes with Arduino and custom switches.
Developed a clickable digital prototype where each Braille key reveals its mapped action, making it intuitive for first-time users.
Tested physical models with different shapes, textures, and spacing for comfort and usability.
Impact
The gestural keyboard prototype demonstrated that:
Students could navigate software faster without memorizing complex shortcuts.
Tactile interaction reduced dependency on fast screen-reader voice prompts.
The approach holds potential for scaling into affordable assistive devices for schools across India.
Reflection
This project reinforced how inclusive design isn’t about adding features, but reducing friction. By listening to users and designing for their context, we turned something as abstract as a shortcut into a tangible, accessible interaction.
