Biology homework
The heart diagram on page 214. Photograph it, hear the walkthrough, ask which chamber comes first. One label comes back flagged as unclear — so that’s the question for tomorrow’s teacher, not a guess on tonight’s worksheet.
Blind · low vision · study
Every diagram in every textbook, explained aloud.
Meet PicExplainer.
PicExplainer is built for blind and low-vision students. Photograph any textbook diagram, chart, graph, map or figure and hear a clear spoken explanation in seconds — then ask follow-up questions in plain language. Built VoiceOver-first, honest about what it can’t read.
Free to use. Any optional upgrade is shown in the App Store before purchase.
What it does
Photograph a textbook figure and hear it explained — then ask, in plain language, what the arrow points to, which chamber comes first, or what the values on the chart are.
How it works
Eyes-free camera guidance speaks you through framing the page. PicExplainer explains the figure aloud, answers follow-up questions, lets you explore the diagram by touch with haptic ticks, and can play charts as audio graphs. It reports how confident it is and says “I cannot clearly read this label” instead of guessing.
Who it’s for
For blind and low-vision students — and the teachers of students with visual impairments, disability-services staff, and families around them — who need the figures a screen reader can’t touch: the diagram, the chart, the map in tomorrow’s reading.
Accessibility built in
Designed with VoiceOver from the first line of code: every screen usable by touch and speech, results read in your own VoiceOver voice, haptic boundaries under your finger, audio graphs for charts, and Braille and tactile sheet export.
What it can do with a figure
Photograph the page. Then interrogate it.
Photo and PDF input
Photograph any textbook diagram, chart, graph, map or figure — or scan from a PDF — and hear a clear spoken explanation in seconds.
Ask follow-up questions
In plain language: “Which chamber does blood enter first?” “What does the arrow on the left point to?” “Read me the values on this chart.”
Explore by touch
Drag a finger across the diagram and hear each part announced — “Right atrium”, “X axis”, “Resistor” — with a gentle haptic tick at every boundary.
Charts as audio graphs
Charts can play as audio graphs, so you hear the shape of the data — the field’s own technique of sonification, in your pocket.
Braille and tactile sheets
Export a Braille and tactile sheet for a figure, walk through it part by part, and test yourself before the exam.
A library that stays yours
Every diagram and conversation is saved on your device — readable forever, even offline, even without a subscription.
Honest by design
It tells you what it can’t read.
PicExplainer reports how confident it is, and says “I cannot clearly read this label” instead of guessing. Anything uncertain is flagged so you can check with your teacher.
PicExplainer uses AI. AI can make mistakes — always verify important information. That sentence ships in the app and stays on this page, because a study tool you can’t trust to admit uncertainty isn’t a study tool.
New scans need a connection — photos are analysed on our servers and never stored. Your saved library stays readable offline, and an offline voice fallback keeps results speakable.
A day with PicExplainer
Three moments PicExplainer was built for.
Exam week, on the bus
No connection, no problem for revision: the saved library holds every figure already explored this term, readable forever, with the conversations that explained them.
The disability services office
A coordinator deploys PicExplainer to loan iPads through Apple School Manager — and still books tactile graphics for the high-stakes figures. The app covers the long tail the production queue never reaches.
For TVIs & disability services
It complements tactile graphics. It never replaces them.
Tactile graphics and sonification are the field’s standard ways for blind students to read figures — skilled to produce, powerful to teach, and worth every minute of the production queue. PicExplainer’s honest role is the long tail: the diagram in tonight’s reading, the chart in a handout, the figure nobody had three weeks to emboss. It also exports Braille and tactile sheets, and plays charts as audio graphs.
School-wide licences with simple activation codes are available by invoice — write to robin@kindabilities.com. For everything else procurement, start at the schools and professionals door.
Deployment notes for school IT
- iOS 18 or later, iPhone and iPad; built VoiceOver-first.
- No accounts, no tracking — nothing to provision per student. App Privacy label: “Data Not Collected”.
- Photos are analysed on our servers and never stored; the saved library lives on the device, readable offline.
- Free tier: three sample diagrams, and the saved library forever. Pro pricing is shown in the App Store.
- Free to deploy through Apple School Manager Apps and Books; school-wide licences by invoice (see above).
Procurement facts, each with an Apple citation: how schools get our apps.
Honest limits
What PicExplainer is not.
A study-access tool for photographed figures. It is not a navigation or safety device, it does not describe scenes or surroundings, and it complements tactile graphics rather than replacing them. PicExplainer uses AI. AI can make mistakes — always verify important information.
Questions, answered honestly
Before you download PicExplainer
How do blind students usually read diagrams?
Mostly through tactile graphics — raised-line versions of a figure, produced by specialists and taught explicitly — plus human description and, for data, sonification (hearing values as sound). Those remain the gold standard. PicExplainer covers the figures the production queue never reaches: tonight’s homework, the handout, the practice paper.
Does it work with VoiceOver?
It was designed with VoiceOver from the first line of code. Eyes-free camera guidance speaks you through framing the page, every screen is usable by touch and speech, and with VoiceOver on, results read in your own VoiceOver voice.
Can it read charts and graphs?
Yes — it explains them aloud, reads values on request, and can play a chart as an audio graph so you hear the shape of the data.
What happens when it can’t read something?
It says “I cannot clearly read this label” instead of guessing, tells you how confident it is, and flags anything uncertain so you can check with your teacher.
Can I trust it for homework and exams?
Treat it like a very fast study partner, not an oracle: it reports confidence and flags what to verify. PicExplainer uses AI. AI can make mistakes — always verify important information.
What happens to my photos?
They are analysed on our servers and never stored. No accounts, no tracking.
Does it work offline?
Your saved diagrams and conversations stay readable forever, even offline, even without a subscription, with an offline voice fallback for reading aloud. New scans need a connection.
What’s free?
Three sample diagrams, and your saved library forever. PicExplainer Pro adds unlimited scanning and questions; its price and trial terms are shown in the App Store before purchase.
Can I use it without seeing the screen at all?
Yes — that’s the design brief. Eyes-free camera guidance, spoken results, haptic ticks while exploring by touch, full VoiceOver support.
Does it replace tactile graphics?
No. Tactile graphics need skilled production and explicit teaching, and they carry information a spoken description can’t. PicExplainer complements them and covers the long tail.
How does a whole class get it?
Every KindAbilities app is automatically available through Apple School Manager Apps and Books, with device-based assignment that needs no student accounts — see how schools get our apps. PicExplainer additionally offers school-wide licences with simple activation codes by invoice: robin@kindabilities.com.
Can it help me navigate, or describe the room?
No. PicExplainer explains photographed figures — diagrams, charts, graphs, maps, textbook pages. It is not a navigation or safety device, and it doesn’t describe scenes or surroundings.
Ready when you are.
PicExplainer is free to use; any optional upgrade is shown in the App Store before purchase.