Hand-held machine helps blind people read printed newspapers

The National Union of Blind People has just announced a breakthrough device - a reading machine for the blind. This handset will take pictures and read any printed text to the user with just a click of a button.

Blind Reader product
(Photo: Pravda)

The product was developed by the US National Blind Union and inventor Ray Kurzweil . Blind Reader - the name of the product - is a combination of a digital camera and a personal data device.

Photos will be sent to the computer, from there, the specialized software in the computer will transfer any characters that appear on the screen into words.

"This is really the latest technology developed specifically for the blind for 30 years , " said James Gashel, executive director of strategic initiatives at the Maryland-based federation. Gashel calls it "talking camera".

About three decades ago, Kurzweil launched the first invention that turned the character into sound. The device is about the size of a dishwasher. However, the latest product has a much greater advantage: it is carried with people.

There are about 10 million people who are blind or have very weak eyesight in the US, and this number could double in the next 30 years as the younger generation ages. Therefore, with the price of about 3,500 dollars, the potential market of Blind Reader device is huge.

Kurzweil said he hopes in the future the device will be able to decode more complex forms of information, and then identify objects and people.

Today, product testers say they are excited to read editions they have never known before, such as in-flight magazines.

A long-standing typeface of blind people is the Braille system. However, this type of book is often limited in quantity and less content, due to the slow and very expensive production.

T. An