RScan allows blind and visually impaired people to recognize products simply by scanning their barcodes. A smart algorithm looks up scanned barcodes on DuckDuckGo, and automatically reads aloud what it considers to be the most fitting and useful description of the scanned product. In most cases, that should suffice, but in addition, users can also use a local caching system to label any barcode. The app supports EAN-13, EAN-8, UPC-A, and UPC-E barcode formats. For a detailed description and advice on how to efficiently find and scan a barcode, see the project’s official repository.
View on Google Play StoreFree or paid:
- Free
Accessibility and User Comments:
When you open the app, it starts scanning automatically, but it doesn't announce that it is doing so. Also, there is no indication when the camera is about to detect the barcode. You only hear a tone when the code is recognized, and then the result is announced automatically and added to the list of recognized products on the screen. There, you can reread it along with previous identifications or tap any of them to view more search results and optionally save it under your own local label.
An observed accessibility issue is related to the flashlight usage. If you are using TalkBack, you cannot determine the state of the flashlight, whether it is on or off. However, for Jieshuo users, although the state change is not announced automatically, you can still identify the state by the button itself, whether it displays checked or unchecked.
Recognizing barcodes can be challenging at times due to the lack of guidance or indication when the code is only partially detected. As the app uses search to retrieve results, be cautious about misidentifications. During our testing of the app, this occurred with a popular product.
Last Tested App version and Android version:
App version: 1.3.0
Comments