CAT: Cellular Accessibility Technology

Inspiration

More than once, we have been asked to help relatives to navigate "simple" aspects of technology. This can be pretty tedious, so we wondered how we could automate this process. CAT specifically targets commands that would be used by people unfamiliar with using their cell phones.

What it does

CAT helps users navigate their phones with a simple shake to activate. When its on, it will include a physical (vibration), visual (cat), and auditory ("listening") signal. CAT can change phone settings, such as system font size, take users to specific apps, and more.

How we built it

We built CAT using Java in Android Studio. CAT searches for key words (for example, "text" and "smaller") to carry out a series of correlating actions (for example, decreasing font size).

Challenges we ran into

We originally wanted to use Unity since we both already knew how to use it, however, it would not have been well suited for our purposes. In addition, it was our very first time using Android Studio, so there was a learning curve. Also, being in different states and time zones, it was harder to collaborate.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Creating our first app and using Android Studio! This is also our first time making an entirely text-code based project for a hackathon. We are also proud that it works very well.

How we stand out

Although Google Assistant can do some similar functions, our app allows the user to ask in more ways ("make my screen brighter," "my screen is too dark," "I can't see my screen" ==> increase brightness) than Google Assistant does. This way, if someone does not know the specific terminology for something, our app will still understand what the user is asking, unlike Google Assistant. Also, it can do things that Google Assistant cannot, such as changing system font size.

What we learned

We learned how to use Android Studio to create a finished app, and Anna learned how to use some aspects of Java.

What's next for CAT: Cellular Accessibility Technology

After talking to some people who showed interest and would benefit from the app, we do wish to add more features so they could use it regularly. In the future, we hope to make the app accessible no matter what the user is doing. This means that the app would always have to be running in the background. This is difficult because most modern Android phones have methods in place to limit battery consumption. Additionally, we would like to add more commands, and possibly even add AI, so that we do not have to write every possible command and outcome.