Camera That Takjs
- From: dg140@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Charles Pond)
- To: optacon-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 06 Jul 2006 16:31:12 -0400 (EDT)
The camera that talks
Handheld device 'reads' for the vision impaired
By Jamie Stengle, Associated Press
DALLAS - A whole new world opened up for Tommy Craig as he tested
a new handheld device for the blind that converts print to audio.
Craig was able to "read" everything from menus to cooking
directions by positioning the reader over print and taking a
picture. In seconds, the device's synthetic voice read the printed
message to him.
"The reader provides access to materials that a lot of times you
just didn't read," said Craig, 51, of Austin, Texas, who was one of
about 500 blind people who tested the device over the past few
months. "It certainly makes you more independent."
The National Federation of the Blind plans to put the device on
sale Saturday, when its annual meeting gets under way in Dallas.
"It's not quite like having a pair of eyes that work, but it's
headed in that direction," said James Gashel, executive director
for strategic initiatives at the Maryland-based National Federation
of the Blind.
The device, combining a personal digital assistant and a digital
camera, was developed by inventor Ray Kurzweil and the membership
organization of more than 50,000 blind people. It's been dubbed the
Kurzweil-National Federation of the Blind Reader.
"This is really the hottest new technology to be developed for
blind people in the last 30 years," said Gashel, who calls it "the
camera that talks."
About three decades ago, Kurzweil invented the first device that
could convert text into audio. It was about the size of a washing
machine. That gave way to software that could be used by a computer
and scanner to perform the same function. The latest device, about
the size of a paperback book, introduces portability.
"It's always been considered desirable to have a reading machine
that a blind person could carry along with them," Kurzweil said.
"We're getting phenomenal feedback."
There are about 10 million blind and visually impaired people
nationwide, and that number is expected to double in the next 30
years as baby boomers age.
The device also can be useful for those who have limited vision,
said Marc Maurer, president of the National Federation of the
Blind.
The federation expects that the reader, which costs about $3,500,
will be a big hit among the 3,000 participants at the annual
meeting. It will be sold though Massachusetts-based Kurzweil
Education Systems Inc. and will be available on the Internet and in
stores.
People who have tested the reader said they enjoy being able to
read text they couldn't before.
Maurer also points out another advantage: "Sometimes you get
something that you want to read that you don't want anyone else to
read."
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