[bcab] Fw: Surrey View FW: Cell Phone Can Read Documents for Blind

Messagedear all,
I think that most of you may find this of interest, to me it sounds too techno
from
jane
----- Original Message ----- 
From: DAVID MCKAY 
To: surreyview@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 
Sent: Wednesday, April 30, 2008 8:27 AM
Subject: Surrey View FW: Cell Phone Can Read Documents for Blind


Hello All,

You may find this interesting.

-----Original Message-----
From: kebal Sahota [mailto:kebal1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx] 
Sent: 29 April 2008 20:23
To: Kebal Sahota
Subject: Cell Phone Can Read Documents for Blind


Documents for Blind


I received this article today from the Blind-Diabetic Group from the States, 
and I thought you might find this interesting reading!

Kebal

Cell Phone Can Read Documents for Blind

By ALEX DOMINGUEZ 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 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."


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