[optacon-l] Re: Top-Braille
- From: "Steve" <k8sp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <optacon-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 13 Jun 2010 12:05:46 -0400
No, it's not marketed very much here in the States. Howe Press I think
sells it for $1950. I haven't seen it personally, but I have looked at a
video on YouTube and saw documentation on the European Patent Office site.
I don't see the need for testing something like that which is a hand-scanner
that converts what it sees into Braille except if there was a large interest
in the deaf-blind community. There are other portable solutions like the
KNFB Reader which are smaller, will read much faster, etc.
Since this device relies on optical-to-character recognition, it doesn't do
what the optacon does. As you scan, there is going to be a slight delay
between what it sees and the conversion of same into Braille. You are
limited in your reading speed to how fast and accurately you can scan a line
of print and move from line to line. Since there are solutions which are
portable and will similarly recognize and read the printed material at at
least three times the speed that one can scan, I see no use for this device
except for those who have hearing impairments.
Steve
Lansing, MI
----- Original Message -----
From: "Anne Robertson" <anne@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <optacon-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, June 13, 2010 11:05 AM
Subject: [optacon-l] Re: Top-Braille
> Hello Steve,
>
> The Top-Braille isn't of interest to an efficient Optacon user, but I know
> many people who tried the Optacon and couldn't get along with it because
> they just couldn't get the hang of reading print characters.
>
> The Top-Braille is a stand-alone device which fits easily into a pocket,
> which is what makes it attractive. It has 6 hours autonomy and can also
> have text files loaded onto it for reading later.
>
> Apparently, a blind student here in France used the Top-Braille for all
> her reading at university.
>
> Have you, by any chance, handled one of these things? I don't think it's
> fair to dismiss it without actually testing it.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Anne
>
>
> On Jun 12, 2010, at 9:21 PM, Steve wrote:
>
>> Sounds like it would be of limited usefulness unless it is aimed at the
>> deaf-blind market. Since it is obviously using a built-in
>> optical-to-character recognition algarithm to convert the print letter it
>> detects into a braille and/or speech equivalent, it really doesn't offer
>> anything that I can see of value to the conventional user.
>>
>> 1. It is not a WYSIWYG device as the Optacon is.
>>
>> 2. If one were going to use it as a print-reading alternative,
>> recognition
>> results would depend I'd think significantly on one's tracking ability.
>> It
>> sounds like the Talking Optacon, which was tested over thirty years ago
>> but
>> never came to market for a variety of reasons.
>>
>> 3. For those who aren't deaf-blind, there are reading solutions for
>> around
>> the same price that will read much faster. And, of course, one can get
>> software for a laptop and portable scanner or camera that would give you
>> a
>> portable solution with more capabilities.
>>
>> Sorry, I don't share the excitement over this product, just as a handheld
>> camera that converts what it saees into something else fails to excite me
>> either.
>>
>> Steve
>> Lansing, MI
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Anne Robertson" <anne@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>> To: <optacon-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>> Sent: Saturday, June 12, 2010 1:04 PM
>> Subject: [optacon-l] Top-Braille
>>
>>
>>> Hello everyone,
>>>
>>> Yesterday, at the Salon de l'Autonomique in Paris, I had the chance to
>>> try
>>> an interesting device. It is called the Top-Braille and looks rather
>>> like
>>> a fairly large computer mouse. On the very top surface is a one-cell
>>> braille display with a navigation dot above and below it.
>>>
>>> You run the device along a line of print and it converts each character
>>> into Braille as you go. It can also speak the characters and read whole
>>> words aloud.
>>>
>>> The reading technique is very similar to using the Optacon although I
>>> found tracking more difficult with the Top-Braille. Also, the
>>> circumstances weren't the best as it was a very noisy environment.
>>>
>>> However, I do think this is a very promising device and the price isn't
>>> excessive compared to Braille displays for example.
>>>
>>> It costs something around €1700 and can handle several languages
>>> including
>>> English.
>>>
>>> If you can read French, have a look at the website:
>>> www.top-braille.eu
>>>
>>> Cheers,
>>>
>>> Anne
>>>
>>> to view the list archives, go to:
>>>
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>>
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>
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