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Handheld Device Reads Printed Words to the Blind
geekotourist writes "3,000 people in Dallas this week for the National Federation of the Blind convention are getting a demonstration of what life is like when you can read printed menus, mail, business cards and memos," reports the Dallas Morning News. The NFB spent two million dollars developing the $3,495 Kurzweil-National Federation of
the Blind Reader, which weighs 15 ounces and combines text-to-speech with sophisticated OCR. The device 'gives the user an initial "situation report," describing what it can see. The user then makes a decision about whether to take a picture. After a few seconds to process the image, the contents of the document are read aloud.' Beta testers describe the joys of reading receipts, CDs, food labels, bulletin boards, conference printouts, or of simply reading books with privacy, without another person's help."
>You are driving on I-80. You are surrounded by cars. ...
>*turn wheel right*
>You have crashed your car. It is on fire.
>*Run away*
>I don't understand "away."
Quid festinatio swallonis est aetherfuga inonusti?
Africus aut Europaeus?
This has just made your commute to work that much more awkward when the blind gentleman next to you pulls out a Playboy.
Information wants a fueled airplane waiting at the hangar and no one gets hurt.
I wasn't aware that one blind reader constituted a federation.
</sarcasm>
I seriously had to read that two or three times before it came out right.
-:sigma.SB
WARN
THERE IS ANOTHER SYSTEM
The device "gives the user an initial 'situation report', describing what it can see.
"You are in a maze of twisty passages, all alike."
Great! Then you, too, can sell these for $3,495 a pop. Or maybe it's not quite the same thing, hmm? What's more likely?
Bonsai Kitten: TNG
Wait a minute, it doesn't matter.
What about buying a dishwasher machine? They are much cheaper than $2500.
Nuffsaid
________
Don't know about his cat, but Schroedinger is definitely dead.