Paperboy

Paperboy is an innovative application designed to transform the daily news experience for visually impaired individuals. Utilizing an intuitive and straightforward system, users can easily "read" newspapers through advanced vocal synthesis. It empowers users to access on-demand news content across multiple devices, including smartphones, tablets, and PCs.

Unlike typical applications that rely on text-to-speech capabilities to narrate on-screen content, this app employs a novel approach, leveraging the physical corners of touchscreens to provide blind and visually impaired users with a tangible way to navigate through the news.

Featuring a "reverse tree" structure, it organizes newspapers into a hierarchical system wherein each newspaper serves as the root. From there, users can explore specific sections – such as sports, politics, or finance – and choose articles within those categories. To facilitate navigation, the interface is divided into four equal quadrants, each representing a simple control:

- Upper Left: Parent level navigation and audio stoppage, with a long press serving to close the game.

- Upper Right: Scroll through and vocalize previous items, whether editions, sections, or articles.

- Lower Right: Scroll through and vocalize subsequent items across levels.

- Lower Left: Drill down from higher to lower levels and initiate text-to-speech functionality for articles. A long press activates the spoken tutorial.

Intended to be user-friendly, just simple taps in the respective quadrant of the screen are required to navigate, enhancing the ease of use for those holding the phone with both hands. By focusing on seamless user experience and access to information, it stands out as a valuable tool for the visually impaired community, enabling them to stay informed and connected with the world of news. Editors who are interested in collaborating can take the necessary steps to include their newspapers, making their content accessible to a wider audience.