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I am in the process of experimenting with developing a word-processor based on an eInk screen. I have some background in coding but am now hopelessly out of touch with mobile applications or mobile operating system environments. As the Kobo has proven to be a very resilient and freely available device for ereading, it would appear to be a good basis for such a device. Many people with dyslexia, sensory processing disorder, TS and ASD (all neuro-developmental conditions) have great difficulty working with text on LED or backlit tablet or laptop screens. There is evidence that eInk screens overcomes many of the issues they have and are far easier to read. A large part of the issue is the glowing/lit screen making text hard to read and excessive sensory stimulation caused by screen refresh/flicker. These issues are often solved by eInk which uses ambient light and the image is static with a long latency rate.
The notepad in the Kobo Launcher is a very good basis for such an approach but an external keyboard would be the answer for such use as the touch screen 'keyboard' is much harder to use. An external keyboard can be positioned horizontally and the screen at a convenient position for viewing.
As far as I understand, what is needed is for usb-host to be enabled on the ereader to enable a wired keyboard to be plugged in or for a wireless keyboard to be used via the Kobo's built-in Wi-Fi system. This is beyond my coding capabilities but I assume that compiling a usb-host app to run in the Kobo's Qt environment would be the answer. For a wired connection, presumably a standard micro-usb OTG connector would be sufficient.
I would appreciate any suggestions or advice relating to this issue
Regards
Dr Rob Beckwith
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