The iPhone has never seemed a likely contender as a smart phone for the blind (it’s certainly not designed for touch typing), which makes this case by designer Bruno Fosi even more impressive.

The Silicon Touch covers the phone’s screen and features a selection of bas-relief buttons that correspond to menu items in a custom app, allowing those with diminished sight access to all the phone’s functions, including multi-touch and finger flick scrolling. Right now it’s just a concept, but we’re hoping to see this one become a reality sooner rather than later.

Rumors are that several companies are bidding to produce the case already, and it may be available at some point soon.

This is the kind of unique outreach kind of product that will really move the iPhone into a different realm of usability, and open the world of the iPhone to a wider audience, even people who may not have access to it normally.