[nabs-l] Money Identifier Coming

[Arielle Silverman]

Hi all,

I'm glad that the treasury is working on making money access
affordable, but I'm a little skeptical that using money readers is the
best way to do that. My main concern is the amount of technical skill
required, especially for folks who are less tech-savvy. While I have
not tried money-reading apps yet, I have terrible camera aim, so I've
never had much success with OCR mobile apps. I think my camera aim is
worse than most blind people's, but I suspect I'm not the only one
with this problem. How much aiming precision is needed to get an
accurate read on a bill? I'm also concerned about how long it takes
for a reader to ID a bill and whether that time lag is prohibitive for
blind people attempting to work as cashiers, bank tellers etc. I agree
with others that accessible money isn't really a necessity for
ordinary customer transactions, but I support making money accessible
if it would help open up more retail-level jobs to blind people. So
would a money reader really be practical in the workplace? Finally, it
seems to me that making bills of different sizes and textures might
cost less than producing these money readers, but I could be wrong
about that. I suspect, though, that making the bills different sizes
or textures would work better for people who are less tech-savvy or
who have to turn over a lot of money quickly. These are just my
thoughts.

Arielle

On 6/16/14, Greg Aikens via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> The other difference is that it makes money identifiers affordable to those
> who do not use smart phones. Unless the price has dropped, the iBill was
> around $99.
>
> On Jun 15, 2014, at 8:09 PM, Alyssa via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>
>> I believe you mean LookTell. :) that is a good app. I want to know how
>> cost effective this will be? Even though we would get them free, I bet
>> these devices cost a lot of money. Besides, we've gotten by with folding
>> our money for years. Just my thoughts.
>> Alyssa
>>
>> Sent from my iPhone
>>
>>> On Jun 15, 2014, at 5:24 PM, Sophie Trist via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>> This is awesome! However, I do have to ask if these people realize that
>>> there are already lots of money identifiers out there. HeyTell is an
>>> iPhone app that does this, and it's never failed me. There is also a
>>> device that I believe is called an iBill. Is there something special
>>> about the roll call program that sets it apart from other money
>>> identifiers?
>>>
>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>> From: David Andrews via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
>>> To: david.andrews at nfbnet.org
>>> Date sent: Fri, 13 Jun 2014 19:55:15 -0500
>>> Subject: [nabs-l] Money Identifier Coming
>>>
>>>
>>> Roll Call
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Thousands of 'Currency Readers' in the Pipeline for the Blind
>>>
>>> By Anne L. Kim Posted at 4:31 p.m. on June 11
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> While a $1 bill means something entirely different than a $100 bill,
>>> they might not feel too different to the visually impaired. The
>>> government is ready to do something about that challenge, though.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> The Bureau of Engraving and Printing expects to distribute between
>>> 100,000 and 500,000 "currency readers" to the blind and others who
>>> are visually impaired, says Larry R. Felix, director of the bureau in
>>> written testimony for a House Financial Services Committee hearing
>>> today.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> In a report last year, the Government Accountability Office described
>>> the gizmos as "portable electronic devices capable of speaking the
>>> denomination of a bill out loud."
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> The effort is part of a response by the Treasury Department to a
>>> court ruling several years ago that directed the department to
>>> provide the blind and visually impaired with meaningful access to
>>> currency.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> "We plan to launch a pilot program this summer and roll the program
>>> out nationally in 2015. The project plan is under joint development
>>> and will be operated by the BEP an the LOC/NLS," Felix said in his
>>> statement. LOC/NLS is the Library of Congress' service for the blind
>>> and physically handicapped. Felix said the office helped to develop
>>> the readers.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>       David Andrews and long white cane Harry.
>>> E-Mail:  dandrews at visi.com or david.andrews at nfbnet.org
>>>
>>>
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>>
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