Google introduced two new tools that make Android phone even more accessible for people with speech and motor disabilities

Every day, people use voice commands, like “Hey Google,” or their hands to navigate their phones. However, that’s not always possible for people with severe motor and speech disabilities.

Google has recently introduced two new tools: Camera Switches and Project Activate, so people with speech and motor impairments can control their phones and communicate using facial gestures. Both of these tools use front-facing cameras and machine learning technology to detect one’s face and eye gestures.

Camera Switches: navigate Android with facial gestures

In 2015, Google launched Switch Access for Android, which lets people with limited dexterity navigate their devices more easily using adaptive buttons called physical switches. Camera Switches, a new feature in Switch Access, turns your phone’s camera into a new type of switch that detects facial gestures, meaning it’s now possible for anyone to use eye movements and facial gestures to navigate their phone — sans hands and voice!