Brighter and Bigger > How to use

Version 3.0

How to Use

"Brighter and Bigger" is a reading glasses tool for people who have difficulty reading fine print and focusing on nearby objects due to presbyopia, eye illness, etc.
Presbyopia is a normal condition for people over the age of 40, which arises from age-related changes in the anatomy of the eye. Moreover, it becomes difficult to read small letters due to eye illnesses, such as cataracts and low vision.
This application helps you to read small letters comfortably by making the images bigger, brighter and clearer with scientific color changing methods.

open image

Basic Use

1. Adjust Exposure and Focus
Tap the screen to adjust exposure and focus. (Some devices do not support it.)
2. Adjust automatically with "Auto"
Press the "Auto" button on the left of the screen and the app sets "Brighter" and "Clearer" by itself, to suit the text in view. The button is blue while Auto is on, and "Auto" appears large in the middle of the screen when you turn it on. The app starts with Auto on.
If it does not settle well, tap the part you want to read. The app adjusts again around the place you tapped. If it still cannot, the "Auto" button blinks a few times; adjust the "Brighter" and "Clearer" dials by hand in that case.
Turning the "Brighter" or "Clearer" dial by hand switches Auto off. Press the "Auto" button to turn it on again.
3. Adjust Brightness (-5 to +5)
The "Brighter Dial" on the bottom left changes brightness. A smaller value is darker and a larger value is brighter. Brightness is changed by 5% per value of 1.
4. Adjust Contrast (0 to +10)
The "Contrast (Clearer) Dial" on the bottom right changes contrast. Increase the value for more clarity.
5. Adjust Magnification (1.0 to 10.0)
The "Magnification Dial" on the bottom changes the degree of magnification. You can also change this value by pinching. What is in the middle of the screen stays in the middle when you zoom in or out. You can change the maximum magnification to 20.0 times by setting the "Max Magnification x20" to ON in the Settings screen.
6. Repeat steps 3 through 5 until brightness, contrast and magnification are comfortable.
7. All dials, buttons and text disappear if you do not touch the screen for 10 seconds. You can tap the screen, rotate the device, or return to the app to display them again. They do not disappear while TalkBack or VoiceOver is in use.

Advanced Use

Freeze Button
Push to freeze moving images and display a still image. Push again to release. You can also make a still image bigger, brighter and clearer through use of the dials. A still image can be panned by using a panning gesture (tap and move the screen with 1 finger). You can also "Freeze" by pressing the screen long enough (long press).
Brightness Reverse Button
Push to reverse brightness. A black letter on white background is changed to a white letter on black background. This mode is especially suitable for people with cataracts and low vision.
Image Save Button
Push to save the displayed image. On Android it goes to the "DCIM" folder, and on iPhone and iPad to "Photos". The date and time and the color space are recorded in the image. Location is not recorded.
Switch Camera/File Button
Shows the buttons which choose the image source device.
Switch to Rear Camera Button
Switch the image source to the rear camera.
Switch to Front Camera Button
Switch the image source to the front camera. A mirrored image is displayed on the screen when the front camera is used.
Switch to Image File Button
Choose a saved image from the photo picker and use it.
Settings Button
Push to access various settings (described below.)
Tilted Angle Correction
When you put a book on a desk and look at it from above, it is distorted like a trapezoid. This function, "Tilted Angle Correction" (Reverse Projection Transformation), revises such distortion as if you saw it from directly overhead. Turn it on and off with "Tilted Angle Correction" in the Settings screen. You can change the "Degree of Tilted Angle Correction" parameter by pinching the bottom of the screen or by using the "Degree of Tilted Angle Correction" slider in the Settings screen.

Original (left), Tilted Angle Correction (right)

open image open image
Torch Button
Push to turn the torch light ON/OFF. (If supported.)
Cont. Auto Focus OFF Button (Some devices do not support it.)
Disable continuous auto focusing and focus on the tapped area on the screen. It is convenient when using the device fixed to a stand. You can also change this value in "Settings".
Reset
Double tapping the screen resets the "Bigger", "Brighter", "Clearer", "Brightness Reverse" and Pan parameters to their initial conditions, and turns "Auto" off. Shaking your device also releases freezing in addition to the above.

Settings Screen

You can change various settings in the Settings Screen. Use the arrow at the top left to go back.

open image Setting Screen (bottom)

open image

Monochrome Mode
- Discard Color Information
  Discards Chromaticity Information and only uses Lightness information. Readability for an individual who cannot read easily due to eye illness, etc. may improve with this setup. (default value: OFF)
- Color(s) Used
  Specifies the color(s) used for the "Monochrome" (or "Duochrome") mode. The specified color or combination of colors (chromaticity information only) is used.
  For example, in the case that one color is specified (Monochrome), such as "Light Blue", colors which have the same chromaticity as "Light Blue" are displayed. In the case that two colors are specified (Duochrome), such as "Yellow and Blue", a color which has the same chromaticity as Yellow is displayed when the Lightness value is at its highest, and a color which has same chromaticity as Blue is displayed when the Lightness value is at its lowest (dark). A color's chromaticity is determined by the linear interpolation between light and dark according to its own Lightness.
  In addition, "Color(s) Used" can be shifted to the next color(s) by tapping the screen with 2 fingers when the "Shift by double-tapping w/ 2 fingers" is ON. (default: Achromatic)
- Custom Color
  Specifies the color used for the "Custom (Monochrome)" mode (only chromaticity is used). (default value: Yellowish Green (R 67%, G 100%, B 0%))
- Custom Color (Light)
  Specifies the Light Color used for the "Custom (Duochrome)" mode (only chromaticity is used). (default value: Yellow (R 100%, G 100%, B 0%)）
- Custom Color (Dark)
  Specifies the Dark Color used for the "Custom (Duochrome)" mode (only chromaticity is used). (Choose "White Color" when you would like to use Achromatic.) (default value: Purple (R 50%, G 0%, B 100%)）
- Shift by double-tapping w/ 2 fingers
  Shift the "Color(s) Used" to the next color(s) in the order listed in the menu by tapping the screen with 2 fingers.
User Interface Settings
- Big Text and Buttons
  Use Big Text and Buttons. (default value: OFF on phones, ON on tablets)
- Freeze on Long Press
  Freeze by pressing the screen with your finger for 1 second (long press), in addition to the "Freeze Button." While frozen, a 2-second long press releases it. (default value: ON)
- Save on Volume
  Save the screen by pushing the "Volume" button in addition to the "Save Button." (default value: OFF)
- Max Magnification x20
  Sets the maximum magnification ratio to 20x. (Normally 10x) (default value: OFF)
- Cont. Auto Focus OFF (Some devices do not support it.)
  Disable continuous auto focusing and focus on the tapped area on the screen. It is convenient when using the device fixed to a stand. This switch is the same as "Cont. Auto Focus OFF Button". (default value: OFF）
Notification
- Sound
  Gives a sound when you press a button, and when you finish turning a dial or pinching. (default value: ON)
- Vibration
  Gives a vibration when you press a button. Dials and pinching give a small tick for every step. (default value: ON)
- Sound volume
  Sets the volume of the sound from 0 to 100%. At 0 nothing is heard. The sound plays at that volume while you move the slider, so you can decide by ear. It is dimmed and cannot be used while "Sound" is OFF. (default value: 100%)
Tilted Angle Correction
Turns "Tilted Angle Correction" (Reverse Projection Transformation) on and off. (default value: OFF)
Degree of Tilted Angle Correction
Adjust the degree of correction for the "Tilted Angle Correction". This parameter is used when the "Tilted Angle Correction" is ON. The effect is stronger when the slider is moved left, and weaker when the slider is moved right. The "Degree of Tilted Angle Correction" can also be adjusted by pinching an area at the bottom of the screen with 2 fingers, when "Tilted Angle Correction" is ON. (Possible range: Trapezoid (lower base)/(raised bottom) = 0.2-1.0) (default value: 0.5)
Color Space
Automatic: Shows in Display P3 if the screen supports it, and in sRGB otherwise. On iOS, camera images are also captured in P3.
sRGB: Shows in sRGB regardless of the screen.
On iPhone and iPad it is in "User Interface Settings". (default value: Automatic)
Reset
Resets all parameters in the Settings screen to their initial conditions.
How to Use
Shows this manual.
Privacy Policy
Shows the privacy policy.
Application Information
Shows Application Information.

Gestures

1 Finger Tap
When not "Freezing", the focus and exposure are adjusted at the tapped location. (Some devices do not support it.)
While "Auto" is on, "Brighter" and "Clearer" are adjusted again around the place you tapped.
Re-displays U/I parts (dials, buttons and statuses) when they are hidden. (more than 10 seconds have passed since the last operation.)
1 Finger Double Tap
Resets the "Bigger", "Brighter", "Clearer", "Brightness Reverse" and Pan parameters to their initial conditions, and turns "Auto" off. When the dials and text are hidden, it only shows them again.
1 Finger Pan
When "Freezing" or showing an image file, Pan in the direction you moved your finger.
1 Finger Long Press
When not "Freezing", a 1-second long press freezes. When "freezing", a 2-second long press releases (longer, so that resting your finger while reading does not release it).
2 Fingers Double Tap
Shift the "Color(s) Used" to the next color(s) in the order listed in the menu when "Shift by double-tapping w/ 2 fingers" is ON.
2 Fingers Pinch
Zoom in or out. It is the same as operating the "Magnification Dial".
2 Fingers Pinch on the bottom of screen
Increase or decrease "Degree of Tilted Angle Correction" when "Tilted Angle Correction" is ON.
Shake
Resets the "Bigger", "Brighter", "Clearer", "Brightness Reverse" and Pan parameters to their initial conditions, and release "Freezing".
When the buttons are hidden, shows them and only releases "Freezing" and turns "Tilted Angle Correction" OFF (the dial values are kept).

Foldable iPhone (iPhone Duo)

You can use the app on both the outer screen (closed) and the inner screen (open). It keeps running when you open or close the device. As with rotating the device, opening or closing resets the Pan.
Only the buttons and text that would sit over the camera hole are moved away from it.
When the device is half folded, the dials and the image are shown across the fold as they are.

Notes

This application software has been designed so that people with cataracts or low vision can use it easily. It can also be used with TalkBack (Android) and VoiceOver (iPhone and iPad). Swipe up or down on a dial to change its value.
The screen does not turn off by itself while the app is in use.
The Android and the iPhone/iPad versions work the same way (the only differences are the places marked "On Android", "On iPhone and iPad" or "iPhone and iPad only" above).
This application software is developed by Kazunori Asada (Ph.D. Medical Science and Ph.D. Media Design) and released for free.

Licenses

Brighter and Bigger uses the open-source software and font listed below. The full license texts are in the second half of this section.

Components and copyright notices

Android Jetpack (AndroidX, Compose, CameraX): Copyright The Android Open Source Project (Apache-2.0)
Kotlin standard library, kotlinx (coroutines, serialization, atomicfu): Copyright JetBrains s.r.o. and Kotlin Programming Language contributors (Apache-2.0)
JetBrains annotations: Copyright JetBrains s.r.o. (Apache-2.0)
Dagger: Copyright Google, Inc. (Apache-2.0)
JSpecify: Copyright The JSpecify Authors (Apache-2.0)
Jakarta Inject: Copyright Eclipse Foundation and the respective authors (Apache-2.0)
javax.inject (JSR-330), Guava ListenableFuture: Apache-2.0

The full texts of the Apache-2.0 and BSD-3-Clause licenses follow.

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