[nfbcs] Optacon thoughts

[Ronald Smith]

Wow! My R1D Optacon was around $5,000 in the late 1977 according to my state 
rehab.

ronsmith131 at gmail.com
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Steve Jacobson via nfbcs" <nfbcs at nfbnet.org>
To: "'NFB in Computer Science Mailing List'" <nfbcs at nfbnet.org>
Cc: "Steve Jacobson" <steve.jacobson at visi.com>
Sent: Wednesday, September 14, 2016 10:26 AM
Subject: Re: [nfbcs] Optacon thoughts


> There have been several attempts to develop a modern Optacon over the past
> ten years or so.  However, to my knowledge, nothing has come of it.  I 
> still
> use one and there is just nothing that gives one the same kind of
> information.  However, many people can get what they need through OCR 
> and/or
> the KNFB reader, and coordinating the tracking of a line of print is a 
> more
> difficult process than one would think so many people were not able to use
> an Optacon effectively.  Also, the cost of an Optacon, around $3,000 in
> 1974, was expensive.  An attempt was made in the later 1970's to make a
> second generation Optacon with parts that were mor standard and which used
> more digital circuitry.  However, it just did not work as well even though
> the physical design was better.
>
> Best regards,
>
> Steve Jacobson
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nfbcs [mailto:nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Dale HELTZER 
> via
> nfbcs
> Sent: Tuesday, September 13, 2016 4:42 PM
> To: 'NFB in Computer Science Mailing List' <nfbcs at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: Dale HELTZER <deheltzer at msn.com>
> Subject: Re: [nfbcs] Optacon thoughts
>
> It's amazing to me that such a relatively simple, useful tool hasn't been
> resurrected. I would buy it in a heartbeat.
>
>
> ---
> Dale E. Heltzer
> deheltzer at msn.com
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nfbcs [mailto:nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Deborah 
> Armstrong
> via nfbcs
> Sent: Tuesday, September 13, 2016 3:55 PM
> To: nfbcs at nfbnet.org
> Cc: Deborah Armstrong
> Subject: [nfbcs] Optacon thoughts
>
> So I was helping a low-vision student this morning learn to use a desktop
> magnifier (VisioBook) to get her math homework done. I pulled out my old
> Optacon to insure I'd picked a representative page from the book and that 
> I
> had it correctly oriented.
>
> I taught myself Optacon so I'm not that good at it. But it got me 
> thinking:
> nobody's ever came out with a modern Optacon; something that turns a 
> camera
> image in to a tactile display that the user will OCR with his own brain
> power. Or at least, I don't think such a gizmo exists.
>
> It's rather sad, really.
>
> --Debee
>
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