Intel's New E-Reader For the Visually Impaired

serverguy writes "Intel will be releasing a win for all visually impaired members of society, a new device called the Intel Reader. It allows visually impaired people to take a snapshot of a newspaper, book, or magazine and have it read back to them. It's estimated that in the US alone there are as many as 55 million people who could make use of such a device. It comes at hefty price though: the paperback-sized device costs $1,499. The device contains a 5-megapixel camera and is powered by a Linux OCR system that converts text into spoken words. The device can hold up to 2GB of data, which would equate to around 600 snapshots. In addition to reading text, the device can also play back audio books in a number of supported formats such as MP3 and WAV. The Intel Reader is expected to be released next Tuesday." The device won't be speedy: "Intel says it takes about 30 seconds to process each page of text... It took... about 30 minutes to scan in the pages of a 250-page book and then one hour to process them."

Comments

is the cost from portability/integration?

[Trepidity]

The raw features somehow make the $1500 seem odd. The admittedly unwieldy equivalent built out of commodity parts is basically a 5-megapixel camera that transfers its data over USB (can be had for under $100 these days), and a netbook (~$300), for a total of ~$400 of hardware. What's the extra $1100 for? The integration into a nice portable package? Development costs of a proprietary OCR/voicesynth pipeline?

Re:is the cost from portability/integration?

[theaveng]

The extra $1100 is for Intel to pay their legal defense fund when the Authors' Guild sues them for violating their authors' "performance rights".

I'm serious. The Guild has already sued Amazon for creating a Kindle that reads books out loud.

Seems like a future iPhone, N900, etc. app

[drinkypoo]

The N900 seems like it ought to have enough horsepower to do this job, perhaps slightly slower but I don't see why the device can't be reading and scanning at the same time. N900 has a 5MP, I'm sure a future iPhone will have an acceptable camera... et cetera. I'm curious if there's audio feedback to tell you if you're correctly framing the page.

Re:Seems like a future iPhone, N900, etc. app

[HTH NE1]

The N900 seems like it ought to have enough horsepower to do this job

Unfortunately, since an N900 can do other things as well, disability coverage won't pay for it. Insurers demand assistive devices be single-function, even if the devices have to be crippled to comply.

ASCAP will put a stop to this

[tekrat]

This device is a violation, and users will have to pay royalties for a public performance of a copyrighted work.

#1) You are "copying" (aka pirating), when you take the snapshot.
#2) The device then produces an audio public performance of the pirated work.

It's illegal under copyright laws and the DMCA.

Lawsuit over "performance royalties"?

[tacarat]

Didn't some group sue Amazon over the Kindle's ability to read text out loud? Is Intel next on the hit list due to this? I mean, for $1,500 you could hire some poor, out of work, minstrel to walk around with you and read articles in real time.

Granted, they are a bit clunkier than what most airlines allow for as carry on luggage items, but still.

Software for Everyone

[Doc Ruby]

I'm looking forward to someone unlocking the reader SW from its Linux-driven dedicated HW. I'd like my webcam to read my books and magazines to me at home.