Have you ever wondered what it’s really like to be colorblind? A new Android app developed in Costa Rica helps designers and developers experience colorblind vision so that they can apply accessibility to their work.

Color Vision Deficiency (CVD) affects our ability to distinguish colors. It can impact on a child’s ability to learn, the ability to select two socks that match in color, the selection of clothing, purchasing fruits and vegetables, and even careers. The purpose of the Colorblind Simulator app is to provide educators, graphic designers, and everyone who works with individuals with CVD, a way to understand their world.

We do not see RGB colors. Rather, the cone cells on the retina of the eye respond to different wavelengths of light. There are three different types of cones: long wavelength (red) cones, medium wavelength (green) cones, and short wavelength (blue) cones.

Simulation processing is a memory intensive task, as the app processes each pixel in an image. Each pixel is transformed to its LMS color, color loss factors are applied, and then transformed ack to RGB. The application default is for dichromatic vision, which involves 100% less loss of one cone type. These conditions are protanopia (red), deuteranopia (green), and tritanopia (blue). The most common form of color blindness is deuteranopia. A far larger number of individuals are affected by anomalous trichromacy, which means that there is a partial loss of one of the cone types.

The Colorblind Simulator app for Android is a collection of simulation tools. It includes tools for images, text, Material Design colors, and any single RGB color. Currently, it is the only color blindness simulation toolbox available for Android.

This app was developed by Bill Anderson, who has previously written many technology articles for The Costa Rica Star. Mr. Anderson is a Vietnam veteran whose fascination with fascination with technology began when he obtained my novice class amateur radio license, while the 6th grade. Mr. Anderson has lived in Costa Rica for many years; below he tells part of his life story:

My part-time jobs during college were as a DJ and engineer for two radio stations. This led to four years in the US Air Force as a Communications Officer during the Vietnam War. In 1973, I built an IMSAI 8080, which was my first PC. In 1978, I was a programmer on the team that ported Unix V7 to an Onyx Z8000 – the microcomputer to run Unix as an OS.

In 1994, I managed a team that converted a massive Gopher site to HTML. In 1996, I got involved with Linux, which led to my involvement with Android. I am still a ham radio operator (WW7BA), a member of the American Legion, and actively involved in Linux and Android devices. Ask me anything about Linux and Android, but not about Windows or Mac.