Ring-like device reads words for the blind
CAMBRIDGE, MASS. — 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 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.
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 Finger- Reader 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 want to read before I sign them,” he said.
Berrier said there are other optical character recognition devices on the market, but none that he knows of that will read in real time.
Pattie Maes, an MIT professor who 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 designs and working on feedback from 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.