[guispeak] repost:Pocket Sized Reading Machine Introduced
- From: David Poehlman <david.poehlman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: GUISPEAK List <guispeak@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 17 Jul 2005 10:02:40 -0400
George asked that I post this in cleaner form so here it is:
--
Jonnie Apple Seed
With His:
Hands-On Technolog(eye)s
Kurzweil Technologies and National Federation of the Blind
premiere theworld's first portable reading machine for the blind
KurzweilAI.net, July 11, 2005
Kurzweil Technologies Inc. (KTI) and the National Federation of
the Blind (NFB) introduced the world's first portable reading
machine for the blind last week at the NFB's 2005 National
Convention in Louisville, KY.
The portable reading machine, which can fit in a user's shirt
pocket, can read print and text materials as users go through their
normal daily routine. It converts print into human-sounding speech
and can read handouts at meetings, signs on a wall, text on
packages, and electronic displays.
The hardware consists of a consumer digital camera with a standard
PocketPC, so the hardware cost is expected to benefit from the
rapid improvement of price-performance of consumer electronics.
The camera and pocket computer are held together by a snap-in case.
The technology was developed by Ray Kurzweil and his colleagues at
KTI in close collaboration withthe NFB, which is organizing a
comprehensive testing program with blind users.
Ray Kurzweil was the principal developer of the first print-to-
speechreading machine for the blind, also developed in close
collaboration with the NFB. Ray Kurzweil
noted that "The new unit is 10,000 times smaller than the
original 1976 reading machine
, yet the computer it's using is 2,000 times more powerful."
This new portable unit is expected to be available for sale in 2006.
---end of editted portion---
NFB Director of Strategic Projects Jim Gashel
demonstrated the
reading machine
to an enthusiastic audience of more than 2,000 blind
delegates.
"There
was
cheering
for several minutes while the
machine
read the document," said Kurzweil, who followed the
demo
with a talk
explaining
the
machine
, KTI's collaboration with NFB on the project, and the
future
of this
technology
.
The portable reader provides feedback to the user on
what it sees,
guiding
the
user
to properly frame reading material. It can report, for
example, if one
of
the
edges
of a document is out of view. It is also capable of
stitching together
portions of
a document from multiple pictures taken by the camera.
It
can detect and
correct
any degree of document rotation and is insensitive to
three degrees of
freedom
of image tilt or rotation. The
software
also includes image-enhancement techniques to
compensate for uneven
illumination
and the low quality optics of inexpensive consumer
cameras.
Future
version will include scene-recognition capabilities to
locate objects
such
as
chairs,
lamps and people.
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