I definitely want one, Lol. I am curious to see how this will work and what the price will be when it hits. Thanks for this Lucy and take care guys. On Jul 8, 2014, at 8:16 AM, "dan Thompson" <dthomps...@mchsi.com> wrote:
> Hi Lucy, > Thanks many times for sharing this encouraging bit of information. I will > keep watching the development of this device. Thanks again. > > From: viphone@googlegroups.com [mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com] On Behalf > OfEdmonds, Lucy (LARA) > Sent: Tuesday, July 08, 2014 7:09 AM > To: viphone@googlegroups.com > Subject: MIT finger device reads to the blind in real time. > > MIT finger device reads to the blind in real time Tuesday - 7/8/2014, 5:06am > ET Associated Press > > CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) -- Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of > Technology are developing an audio reading device to be worn on the index > finger of people whose vision is impaired, giving them affordable and > immediate access to printed words. > > The so-called FingerReader, a prototype produced by a 3-D printer, fits like > a ring on the user's finger, equipped with a small camera that scans text. A > synthesized voice reads words aloud, quickly translating books, restaurant > menus and other needed materials for daily living, especially away from home > or office. > > Reading is as easy as pointing the finger at text. Special software tracks > the finger movement, identifies words and processes the information. The > device has vibration motors that alert readers when they stray from the > script, said Roy Shilkrot, who is developing the device at the MIT Media Lab. > > For Jerry Berrier, 62, who was born blind, the promise of the FingerReader is > its portability and offer of real-time functionality at school, a doctor's > office and restaurants. > > "When I go to the doctor's office, there may be forms that I wanna read > before I sign them," Berrier said. > > He said there are other optical character recognition devices on the market > for those with vision impairments, but none that he knows of that will read > in real time. > > Berrier manages training and evaluation for a federal program that > distributes technology to low-income people in Massachusetts and Rhode Island > who have lost their sight and hearing. He works from the Perkins School for > the Blind in Watertown, Massachusetts. > > "Everywhere we go, for folks who are sighted, there are things that inform us > about the products that we are about to interact with. I wanna be able to > interact with those same products, regardless of how I have to do it," > Berrier said. > > Pattie Maes, an MIT professor who founded and leads the Fluid Interfaces > research group developing the prototype, says the FingerReader is like > "reading with the tip of your finger and it's a lot more flexible, a lot more > immediate than any solution that they have right now." > > Developing the gizmo has taken three years of software coding, experimenting > with various designs and working on feedback from a test group of visually > impaired people. Much work remains before it is ready for the market, > Shilkrot said, including making it work on cellphones. > > Shilkrot said developers believe they will be able to affordably market the > FingerReader but he could not yet estimate a price. The potential market > includes some of the 11.2 million people in the United States with vision > impairment, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates. > > Current technology used in homes and offices offers cumbersome scanners that > must process the desired script before it can be read aloud by > character-recognition software installed on a computer or smartphone, > Shilkrot said. The FingerReader would not replace Braille -- the system of > raised dots that form words, interpreted by touch. Instead, Shilkrot said, > the new device would enable users to access a vast number of books and other > materials that are not currently available in Braille. > > Developers had to overcome unusual challenges to help people with visual > impairments move their reading fingers along a straight line of printed text > that they could not see. Users also had to be alerted at the beginning and > end of the reading material. > > Their solutions? Audio cues in the software that processes information from > the FingerReader and vibration motors in the ring. > > The FingerReader can read papers, books, magazines, newspapers, computer > screens and other devices, but it has problems with text on a touch screen, > said Shilkrot. > > That's because touching the screen with the tip of the finger would move text > around, producing unintended results. Disabling the touch-screen function > eliminates the problem, he said. > > Berrier said affordable pricing could make the FingerReader a key tool to > help people with vision impairment integrate into the modern information > economy. > > "Any tool that we can get that gives us better access to printed material > helps us to live fuller, richer, more productive lives, Berrier said > -- > The following information is important for all members of the viphone list. > All new members to the this list are moderated by default. If you have any > questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if you feel that a > member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or moderators > directly rather than posting on the list itself. 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