Thank you for the information. Good luck S M Chaudhry
On 1/30/08, Shiv <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > The Associated Press > > Last Updated: January 28, 2008 00:21:02 > > BALTIMORE (AP) - Chris Danielsen fidgets with the cell phone, holding it > over a $20 bill. > > ``Detecting orientation, processing U.S. currency image,'' the phone says > in a flat monotone before Danielsen snaps a photo. A few seconds later, the > phone > says, ``Twenty dollars.'' > > Danielsen, a spokesman for the National Federation of the Blind, is > holding the next generation of computerized aids for the blind and visually > impaired. > > The Nokia cell phone is loaded with software that turns text on > photographed documents into speech. In addition to telling whether a bill is > worth $1, $5, > $10 or $20, it also allows users to read anything that is photographed, > whether it's a restaurant menu, a phone book or a fax. > > While the technology is not new, the NFB and the software's developer say > the cell phone is the first to incorporate the text-to-speech ability. > > ``We've had reading devices before,'' Danielsen said, noting similar > software is already available in a larger handheld reader housed in a > personal digital > assistant. Companies such as Code Factory SL, Dolphin Computer Access Ltd. > and Nuance Communications Inc. also provide software that allows the blind > to > use cell phones and PDAs. > > Inexpensive hand-held scanners such as WizCom Technologies Ltd.'s SuperPen > can scan limited amounts of text, read it aloud and even translate from > other > languages. > > However, the $2,100 NFB device combines all of those functions in one > smart phone, said James Gashel, vice president of business development for > K-NFB Reading > Technology Inc., which is marketing the phone as a joint venture between > the federation and software developer Ray Kurzweil. > > ``It is the next step, but this is a huge leap,'' Gashel, who is blind, > said in a telephone interview. ``I'm talking to you on the device I also use > to > read things. I can put it in my pocket and at the touch of a button, in 20 > seconds, be reading something I need to read in print.'' > > Ray Kurzweil, who developed the first device that could convert text into > audio in the 1970s and the current NFB device, said portability is only the > first > step. Future versions of the device will recognize faces, identify rooms > and translate text from other languages for the blind and the sighted. > > The inventor plans to begin marketing the cell phone in February through > K-NFB Reading Technology. The software will cost $1,595 and the cell phone > is expected > to cost about $500, Kurzweil said. > > Dave Doermann, president of College Park-based Applied Media Analysis said > his company is working on similar software for smart phones that could be > used > by the military for translation and by the visually impaired. > > ``We don't anticipate ours being that expensive, but unfortunately we're > not quite to the release yet,'' said Doermann, who is also co-director of > the University > of Maryland's Laboratory for Language and Media Processing. > > Doermann said the company, which has received funding from the Department > of Defense and the National Eye Institute, hopes to have its software ready > in > the next 12 to 18 months. > > Kurzweil's device uses speech software provided by Nuance, said Chris > Strammiello, the director of product management at Nuance, who said the > company has > also developed a prototype reader that uses the Internet to access more > powerful server-side computers. > > ``As you can harness the power of remote environments and do that so > quickly with the Web technologies, it gives a lot more capability, > flexibility and > options to the way you solve these type of problems,'' Strammiello said. > > There are about 10 million blind and visually impaired people in the U.S., > a number that is expected to double in the next 30 years as baby boomers > age. > > Kurzweil said those with vision problems are not the only ones expected to > benefit from the technology. Dyslexics, for example, are expected to be > among > the users of the current device because of its ability to highlight each > word as it's read aloud, helping them cope with their disability, which > affects > the ability to read. The highlighting function can also help them improve > their reading skills, he said. > > ``What's new here is both blind people and kids can do this with a device > that fits in their shirt pocket,'' Kurzweil said. > > Marc Maurer, president of the National Federation of the Blind, said the > device and its PDA predecessor are a ``form of hand-held vision'' that will > make > the visual environment ``much more readily available to the blind.'' > > National Federation of the Blind: http://www.nfb.org > > K-NFB Reading Technology Inc.: http://www.knfbreader.com > > Kurzweil Technologies Inc.: http://www.kurzweiltech.com/ktihome.html > > Applied Media Analysis: http://appliedmediaanalysis.com > To unsubscribe send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] the subject unsubscribe. > > To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, > please visit the list home page at > http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in > To unsubscribe send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the subject unsubscribe. 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