[Blindtlk] KNFB Reader app questions

Wed Dec 30 05:22:07 UTC 2015

Hello,

Here are my answers based on my experience.  Others may have things to add.

 First, what would you recommend to be the best position of my arm and phone
camera? I did turn on tilt guidance so that my phone would vibrate to guide
me through the position of my camera to take the picture, and have tried
many different things, but everything I do seems to be wrong...

I usually, especially in the beginning of my use of the app, began with
placing the phone directly on the document with the camera lens centered on
the page.  I then raise the phone up 10 to 12 inches.  I like the split tap
gesture to take the picture.  That is, I put a finger or thumb on the
shutter button and then touch the screen lightly elsewhere with another
finger.  In this way there is far less movement of the phone.  Regarding the
height, I recommend you use the field of view report to practice getting all
4 corners visible.  You will get a sense of the best position for various
paper sizes after you have practiced with lots of documents.

Second, what do you find is the best document type for scanning documents -
single-column or multi-column?

This depends on the document type.  If you are reading a document with
columns like a newspaper, then use multi columns.  If it is a phone bill
with columns, then use a single column setting since this will read straight
across the line.  Bills usually have columns of information such as date,
number called, minutes spoken, etc.  You don't want to read down each
column, you want to read straight across the line.  In a newspaper, you want
to read down the first column and then do the same with each successive
column. 

Third, can the app scan things that you don't have directly in front of you,
such as a street sign or window display? That would be really nice, since
you now wouldn't need to ask for sighted assistance when you're out and want
to locate something.

The answer here is, it depends.  I have successfully read signs in parks and
museums.  I have also not been able to read other signs in similar places.
There is so much variation from 1 sign to another, and the lighting and
contrast is also a factor.  You may expect maybe half of such attempts to be
successful.  This is give or take and will improve with experience.

Fourth, do you have to point your phone camera towards the top of the page
or anywhere on the page?

As I mentioned in the first answer above, the best thing to do is to aim the
lens as close to the center of the page as possible.  Here, again,
practicing with the field of view report will help you learn to judge this
pretty close after a few weeks of use.  The more you use the app, the better
you will get.

For doing mail and other stationary kinds of activities in your home, you
may consider a stand.  This standardizes the position of the camera and you
can quickly change documents and snap pictures without lining each document
up free hand.  I built my own with PVC pipe and plexiglass from my local
hardware.  it is a cube with each tube 11 and 1/2 inches long joined on the
corners with a 3 way standard PVC joint.  The plexiglass is attached with
self adhesive velcro so that I can dissassemble the unit if I choose.  I did
not save any money compared to commerccially available units, but mine is
much more robust.  It cost me around $35.  Possibly some shopping for lower
cost pvc and joints would have saved me some, not sure.  I am very happy
with my design and I got the satisfaction of building my own.  

Another useful accessory is a wireless keyboard.  Using a keyboard and a
stand eliminates jiggling from tapping the screen.  You can definitely have
very good success without either a stand or keyboard, though they will
improve overall consistency and speed of processing numbers of pages.  For 1
page documents or using the reader in meetings free hand will serve you
quite well.

Lighting is important.  I have found that lots of light significantly
improves the outcome.  The flash and flashlight settings will improve the
quality, but good indirect bright lighting makes a lot of difference,
especially with the quality of the text recognition.  Many times
reprocessing an image will get a better result the second or third time with
difficult documents or signs.

I hope this is helpful.  Again, others may have things to add or even
differences of opinion from mine.  These are the things I have found to be
helpful in getting great performance and lots of satisfaction from this
device.

Warmest Regards,

Fred

I hope that you can answer my questions and will get back to you 1if I think
of any more.  I'm really excited about using this app, because it really
sounds awesome.

-----Original Message-----
From: blindtlk [mailto:blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Sami
Osborne via blindtlk
Sent: Tuesday, December 29, 2015 6:06 PM
To: nabs-l at nfbnet.org; blindtlk at nfbnet.org
Cc: Sami Osborne
Subject: [Blindtlk] KNFB Reader app questions

Hi all,

I recently downloaded the KNFB Reader app this Christmas and had a few
things that I wanted to ask you guys.

 First, what would you recommend to be the best position of my arm and phone
camera? I did turn on tilt guidance so that my phone would vibrate to guide
me through the position of my camera to take the picture, and have tried
many different things, but everything I do seems to be wrong...

Second, what do you find is the best document type for scanning documents -
single-column or multi-column?

Third, can the app scan things that you don't have directly in front of you,
such as a street sign or window display? That would be really nice, since
you now wouldn't need to ask for sighted assistance when you're out and want
to locate something.

Fourth, do you have to point your phone camera towards the top of the page
or anywhere on the page?

I hope that you can answer my questions and will get back to you 1if I think
of any more.  I'm really excited about using this app, because it really
sounds awesome.

Hope to hear from you soon and happy new year,

Sami

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