Dowell App Lets People With Arm Paralysis Use Smartphone

The new app, called 'Dowell' will now open the world of smartphones to people with arm paralysis, muscular dystrophy, ALS and other ailments that limit the movements. The app has been researched and developed by south Korean researchers from Seoul National University who recently demonstrated it at the 2015 Computer-Human Interaction Conference aka CHI in Seoul. Samsung Electronics collaborated with the overall development of the app. So far, the use of computers and Internet was limited to PCs for the people with upper-arm disabilities. The Dowell app however makes it easier for them to use the smartphone with ease.

The Dowell app has a very simple interface specially designed to accept inputs from variety of methods, typically called as 'computer assistive devices'. These include a trackball mouse, a motion sensing cameras that can track head movements and even a stick that can be operated using mouth to manipulate the cursor movements on the display.


Ahn Hyun-jin, the developer of the app demonstrated the use of app by attaching a tiny red sticker to his glasses. The HeadMouse extreme optical sensor can keep track of the movements of the sticker and provide appropriate inputs to the Dowell app. Ahn demonstrated cursor movements by moving head in different directions. The cursor would click on a menu if it remains over it for about two seconds. Ahn also demonstrated inputs with special red trackball mouse that people can use even with very limited finger movements.

Ahn informed that the app was tested with multiple users with disabilities and the app was improved and updated based on the feedback received. The app is expected to be released on Samsung's Apps store in the next few weeks.

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