K-NFB Portable Reader

 

Sorting mail, checking ATM receipts, glancing at handouts—busy people think nothing of doing such tasks on the run, unless they are blind.  We have needed human readers or scanners and software programs for such jobs—until now.

 

 

The K-NFB Reader is here, a revolutionary new product which provides the benefit of now being able to read bills, memos, tickets, menu cards, letters, newspapers, price tags, etc. when you are on the move.

 

Technology that scans and reads printed material to the blind is nothing new, but this personal reader is the first truly handheld device to do the job. 

 

Combining a state-of-the-art digital camera with a powerful data digital assistant housed in a custom-designed, attractive case, the Kurzweil – National Federation of the Blind Reader puts the best available character recognition software together with text-to-speech conversion technology, all in the palm of your hand.

 

Hold the Reader’s camera over print—a restaurant menu, directions, or a memo from your boss—and snap a picture.  In seconds you can hear the contents of the printed document in clear synthetic speech.  Capture, read, and discard pages; store them for later reading; or transfer files to a computer or Braille-aware PDA.  The Reader even has a headphone jack so you won’t disturb your neighbours.

 

The Reader’s convenient size, simple design, and powerful technology deliver unprecedented access to printed matter.

 

And due to its small size, you can even carry it in your pocket or purse!

 

 

What can the K-NFB Reader do?

 

·        Read most printed documents, from letters and memos to pages in a book

·        Read address labels and package information and instructions

·        Read an entire page or a few lines for identification

·        Store thousands of printed pages with easily obtainable extra memory

·        Transfer files to desktop and laptop computers or Braille notetakers

·        Read documents from computers or other devices

 

Imagine how the Reader will change your life.  A colleague hands you a document for review in the next hour?  No problem.  You come back from vacation to an overflowing in-basket?  Put the Reader to work, and the clutter is gone.  Need to check your seat assignment in the airport?  The information can be a snapshot away.

 

You’ll find hundreds of uses for the Reader every day…

 

 

 

Features

 

Information: The PDA status (F1 pressed twice) reports the current Reading Mode. Available modes are Books, Articles and Labels; Bills and Memos; and U.S. Currency.

 

Software Installation: The installation process detects if the hardware configuration corresponds to the software being installed. If it is not correct, the installation will inform the user of the incompatibility and exit.

 

Battery Status: The start-up message announce the PDA battery status, "PDA connected to external power" or "Battery percent full," whenever the Reader is switched on or reset.

 

U.S. Currency Recognition: The Reader can be set to a  Reading Mode called "U.S. Currency."  This mode can be selected from the Reading Mode option under User Settings.  Choices are “Books, Articles, and Labels,” “Bills and Memos,” and "U.S. Currency."  Only U. S. currency is recognized. 

 

Reading Mode Shortcut: The Reader can easily switch between reading and shooting modes.

 

Reprocessing An Image In An Alternate Reading Mode: In case the reading is not proper one can reprocess the image in an alternative reading mode for better results

 

Remember The Position In A Document: The Reader automatically remembers the point (if any) at which a document was last being read.  This applies to the last fifty documents that were saved and previously opened.  Once the document is opened again, the Reader will announce, "Resuming from previous position in document," and will start reading from that position forward.

 

Enhanced Field Of View Report With Flash: The enhanced Field of View Report takes a low resolution picture with flash and announces the angle of orientation relative to the page.  This is to provide alignment feedback even under poor light conditions. 

 

Changing Voices: Two choices are available for the Reader's voice. 

 

Start Up Announcements: The start-up message announce which function is active—"shooting mode," "document reader," or "user settings"—immediately when the system is switched on.

 

Automatic Shutdown: The Reader can be set to turn itself off when not in use after a pre-determined amount of time.  The option for auto-shutdown is available under User Settings.  Choices include shutdown after 1, 3, 5, 10, or 15 minutes.  There is also an option for the system to remain on and not shutdown automatically.  Please note that the camera will remain on for a factory pre-set period of 5 minutes if not switched off manually.  Otherwise, the camera will remain on as long as the PDA is still switched on.

 

Exporting Files: The Reader automatically creates a text file to accompany every stored Reader document.  These files are suitable for reading, editing, or storing on personal computers or notetakers. The files can also be translated into Braille and read on refreshable Braille displays or reproduced on Braille embossers. Text files are stored on the SD card. 

 

 

 

For more information and pricing, please contact us

 

Home Page