I'm an independent Mac developer and I've just released an app called HapticPad that I think some members here might find useful.
HapticPad uses the haptic motor built into your Mac's trackpad to give you a subtle vibration whenever your cursor hovers over a link or button on a webpage. It adds a tactile layer to browsing that works alongside whatever assistive tech you already use.
- Works on any site, just add the Chrome or Firefox extension first - the Safari extension is bundled inside the app
- Requires a Mac with a Force Touch trackpad
- Free to try for 7 days, $5 lifetime after that
- Available on the Mac App Store
I'm actively developing HapticPad and would love to hear from this community about what you'd like to see added or improved. My goal is to make this an invaluable tool for low-vision users as best I can.
You can find it at hapticpad.app
Thanks for reading.
Toby
Comments
Cool Idea
Wondering how it can be useful to the blind. I will hear the vibration not feel it, considering that when I perform the command on the trackpad my finger will be already away from it. Also I am not sure if this will impact the trackpad on the long run as it is not designed to provide vibrations each two seconds or so. Said that, I see it is a cool idea.
Thanks for the reply
Thanks for your reply! This is aimed more at low-vision users than blind - I would love to make something which helped everyone, hopefully a haptic keyboard is released soon. It shouldn't wear down the haptic motor - every click on the trackpad already triggers a haptic motor vibration so is built for huge number of triggers - quite amazing technology!
Request to add to Mac App Directory
Dear Community mods,
Is it possible to add this to the Mac App Directory please? Let me know if any additional information is required.
Thank you,
Toby
Interesting
I believe the new Microsoft Surface devices have an accessibility feature like this. I'm a bit vague on how it works or how it might be useful, but new and silent ways to output information is always interesting.
Off the top of my head, you could have a textured scroll in that it speeds up the closer it gets to the limit of the window. There could be a ticker for pacing out seconds, or prompts on screen where voiceover might interfere, such as recording. A haptic tick between elements, like we have on the iphone whilst flicking through, could be nice.