[Trainer-talk] From Fox News: "New MIT Finger Device Reads to Blind in Realtime"

Thu Jul 10 14:50:37 UTC 2014

Well, I don't get real excited about prototypes.  If it comes to market, I
would not seriously consider it unless it is less than the KNFB Reader.

Best Regards,

Fred

-----Original Message-----
From: Trainer-talk [mailto:trainer-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
Nusbaum, Christopher via Trainer-talk
Sent: Thursday, July 10, 2014 10:10 AM
To: List for teachers and trainers of adaptive technology
Subject: [Trainer-talk] From Fox News: "New MIT Finger Device Reads to Blind
in Realtime"

Listers,

I have heard much about this new device from sighted friends and colleagues
over the past few days as it has surfaced in the national media. In light of
the announcement of the new KNFB Reader iOS app at this year's national
convention, I can't help thinking this finger reader is yet another
unnecessary solution to a problem which has already been solved. However, it
is an intriguing idea. What do you think of this idea which is currently in
prototype? Would you use it? Is it necessary? I look forward to hearing your
thoughts. Here is the Fox News article on this new reader:

New MIT Finger Device Reads to Blind in Realtime
Link:
http://www.foxnews.com/health/2014/07/08/new-mit-finger-device-reads-to-blin
d-in-real-time/

Published July 08, 2014
Associated Press<http://www.ap.org/>

Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are developing an
audio reading device to be worn on the index finger of people whose vision
is impaired, giving them affordable and immediate access to printed words.

The so-called FingerReader, a prototype produced by a 3-D printer, fits like
a ring on the user's finger, equipped with a small camera that scans text. A
synthesized voice reads words aloud, quickly translating books, restaurant
menus and other needed materials for daily living, especially away from home
or office.

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Reading is as easy as pointing the finger at text. Special software tracks
the finger movement, identifies words and processes the information. The
device has vibration motors that alert readers when they stray from the
script, said Roy Shilkrot, who is developing the device at the MIT Media
Lab.

For Jerry Berrier, 62, who was born blind, the promise of the FingerReader
is its portability and offer of real-time functionality at school, a
doctor's office and restaurants.

"When I go to the doctor's office, there may be forms that I wanna read
before I sign them," Berrier said.

He said there are other optical character recognition devices on the market
for those with vision impairments, but none that he knows of that will read
in real time.

Berrier manages training and evaluation for a federal program that
distributes technology to low-income people in Massachusetts and Rhode
Island who have lost their sight and hearing. He works from the Perkins
School for the Blind in Watertown, Massachusetts.

"Everywhere we go, for folks who are sighted, there are things that inform
us about the products that we are about to interact with. I wanna be able to
interact with those same products, regardless of how I have to do it,"
Berrier said.

Pattie Maes, an MIT professor who founded and leads the Fluid Interfaces
research group developing the prototype, says the FingerReader is like
"reading with the tip of your finger and it's a lot more flexible, a lot
more immediate than any solution that they have right now."

Developing the gizmo has taken three years of software coding, experimenting
with various designs and working on feedback from a test group of visually
impaired people. Much work remains before it is ready for the market,
Shilkrot said, including making it work on cellphones.

Shilkrot said developers believe they will be able to affordably market the
FingerReader but he could not yet estimate a price. The potential market
includes some of the 11.2 million people in the United States with vision
impairment, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates.

Current technology used in homes and offices offers cumbersome scanners that
must process the desired script before it can be read aloud by
character-recognition software installed on a computer or smartphone,
Shilkrot said. The FingerReader would not replace Braille - the system of
raised dots that form words, interpreted by touch. Instead, Shilkrot said,
the new device would enable users to access a vast number of books and other
materials that are not currently available in Braille.

Developers had to overcome unusual challenges to help people with visual
impairments move their reading fingers along a straight line of printed text
that they could not see. Users also had to be alerted at the beginning and
end of the reading material.

Their solutions? Audio cues in the software that processes information from
the FingerReader and vibration motors in the ring.

The FingerReader can read papers, books, magazines, newspapers, computer
screens and other devices, but it has problems with text on a touch screen,
said Shilkrot.

That's because touching the screen with the tip of the finger would move
text around, producing unintended results. Disabling the touch-screen
function eliminates the problem, he said.

Berrier said affordable pricing could make the FingerReader a key tool to
help people with vision impairment integrate into the modern information
economy.

"Any tool that we can get that gives us better access to printed material
helps us to live fuller, richer, more productive lives, Berrier said.

Christopher A. (Chris) Nusbaum, Intern
Technology Services Department
Assistive Technology Program
Carroll County Public Schools
125 North Court Street
Westminster, MD 21157
Phone: (410) 751-3428
Cell: (443) 547-2409
Email: canusba at carrollk12.org

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