Developed by researchers at MIT Media Labs, the “FingerReader” is a gadget that, when strapped to your finger, uses software to read printed text out loud as your finger passes over it . Researchers Roy Shilkrot, Jochen Huber and the other creators hope their invention will help those who may be vision-impaired or have problems reading.
The FingerReader’s software won’t work on very small text, such as instructions on a medicine bottle or candy wrapper, but can manage 12-point printed text—the kind on e-readers, computer screens and most books.
Combining the ring-like gadget—made of lightweight plasticine—with uniquely modified open source software and a mounted camera, the FingerReader can read anything aloud as soon as your finger points at it. There have been similar devices, such as the Reading Pen, but MIT’s version provides feedback in real time and will read a whole line of text rather than an individual word.
Shilkrot and Huber’s device is not yet available on market shelves, and won’t be for some time. Aside from putting on the gadget’s finishing touches, the creators are also exploring different uses for the FingerReader, including a version where their invention would translate the printed text into another language.
There’s also no word on cost, though Shilkrot stated he was “aware of the cost of devices these days.”
“We still can’t say how much the FingerReader will cost as a consumer product,” said the creatoron Techcrunch. “The technology is still evolving around miniaturization, stand-alone wireless operation, [and] tethering to a PC or smartphone.”
The creators also noted that, according to a 2011 study by the British Royal National Institute of the Blind, only seven percent of books are available in either large print, unabridged audio and braille. Their FingerReader would certainly impact that statistic, as it would open up a multitude of previously unread texts.
Source Techcrunch
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