YouDescribe vs SonifEye

The YouDescribe app gives blind and visually-impaired viewers convenient mobile access to a rapidly growing collection of YouTube videos with audio description -- an extra soundtrack added by a describer to tell the viewer about text, illustrations, setting, gestures and facial expressions that are otherwise not accessible to blind viewers, or to otherwise aid viewers who benefit from additional description to understand the video content. The YouDescribe app for iOS lets you choose from thousands of YouTube videos described by our global community of contributors. The app also lets you request descriptions for YouTube videos that have not yet been described, and rate descriptions that have already been created. YouDescribe is free and easy to use from the iOS app or from the desktop. The app has been extensively tested with the VoiceOver screenreader, and the web site works well with a variety of screen reader/browser combinations. If you are interested in joining the community of volunteer describers to record audio descriptions for others to view on YouDescribe, use a desktop browser and visit us at https://youdescribe.org/ We will be adding the ability to record from the app in an upcoming release. Who are the describers? * Teachers of the visually impaired who want to give their students better access to educational videos; * Sighted friends and family of all ages who want to share their favorite YouTube videos with the blind people in their lives; * Children and adults who believe in accessibility and want to help make video more accessible for blind or neuro-diverse viewers. The YouDescribe app can be used to: * Watch the latest contributions to the YouDescribe collection * Search for and view described or undescribed YouTube videos * Rate the quality of any audio description with up to 5 stars * Make suggestions for how individual describers can improve their AD technique, * Submit requests for YouTube videos you want described. * Share links to videos on YouDescribe Learn more about Smith-Kettlewell at https://www.ski.org/ Send us feedback by e-mailing support@youdescribe.org Learn more about YouDescribe by following us on Twitter and Facebook: http://twitter.com/SKERI_YD http://facebook.com/YouDescribe The YouDescribe app allows you to sign in with Google Account. For Google Privacy Policy, click https://policies.google.com/privacy This app fetches data from YouTube. For YouTube Terms of Service, click https://www.youtube.com/t/terms The YouDescribe app was developed by Rupal Khilari as part of her master’s degree under the direction of Dr. Ilmi Yoon of San Francisco State University, and Dr. Joshua Miele of the Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute.

SonifEye is a sensory tool that makes the visual element of color accessible through sound. SonifEye transforms the colors of your photos into musical notes, and it teaches you to recognize this color by ear. You can take your time to learn the color-to-sound associations at your own pace. There is a challenge mode that increases in difficulty as you play by evolving and tailoring itself to your skill level. Whether you're blind, low-vision, curious about synesthesia, or just eager to explore a new kind of perception—SonifEye offers an interactive, accessible way to explore and learn to hear the colors all around you. SonifEye is simple to use. Take a photo or upload one from your gallery. Tap it, and SonifEye begins to compose its color as sound. This composition isn't random—our curated mappings ensure each color corresponds to a unique musical identity. For further exploration into the colorful world of your images, use any of the built-in tools: • Color Touch – Glide your finger or stylus across an image to collect and play clusters of color • Color Reveal – Break down an image into discrete, tappable color blocks to play and explore • Crop & Focus – Zoom in on specific parts of an image for extraction and to hear those parts in isolation Hearing color is a skill—and SonifEye helps you build it. Our Challenge Mode trains your brain to match musical notes with color through rewarding, bite-sized quizzes. Increase your color-hearing skill with every tap—the more you play and improve, the more advanced and nuanced the challenges become. What SonifEye offers: • VoiceOver Compatibility – Descriptive tutorial and tap-by-tap guidance for every interaction • Color-Blind Accessibility – Built-in, direct labels that uniquely identify color by it's hue, tint, and shade • Color Sonification – Tap any photo to hear its component colors • Challenge Mode – Practice hearing color through guided, low-pressure quizzes • Adaptive Challenge Difficulty – Unlock new challenges as you improve and get a refresher on old challenges as you go • Color Exploration Tools – Crop, reveal, and touch-explore color details • Privacy Focus – Your photos stay private and are never shared with the developer or other users With SonifEye, color isn’t silent. Experience this visual element like you never have before. It’s not about what you see—it’s about what you sense.