Researchers at MIT are developing some new technologies that will enable vision-impaired people read from things such as tablets.
The gadget is a little finger-mounted device with a built-in camera that will act as the eyes for people who either have vision impairments or are blind. Texts on the screen are scanned using the camera, and given the right finger movement the texts will then turn into audio for users in real time.
Also mounted on the device is a system that provides feedback via tactile or audible to allow users to know whether or not they’re on the right line while reading.
“For visually impaired users, this is a translation. It’s something that translates whatever the finger is ‘seeing’ to audio. They really need a fast, real-time feedback to maintain this connection. If it’s broke, it breaks the illusion,” said Roy Shilkrot, an MIT graduate student involved in the research.
The team claims, however, that the real force driving the project is the algorithm that’s being used to help translate finger visions into audio. Involved in the mechanics of the algorithm are crucial factors such as when it needs to recognize when the finger is on a new line or when the users are straying away from the right reading line. All these inputs allow the system to respond accordingly to help output the right audio or adjust the finger of a blind person back to the right track.
Current development involves the software running on a PC, but work is being done to port the software to Android to make the system more compact.
Source: VR-Zone
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