Blind users read printed documents with camera and synthetic speech

With a high resolution camera connected to a standard PC and an installed speech synthesizer, a blind user instantly hears a book or a document being read to him / her as he / she places the document under the camera.

The Eye-Pal is also equipped with highly sensitive motion sensors enabling it to recognize the flip of a page causing the contents of the new page to be read as it settles into the normal horizontal position.

In a demo conducted at the Emirates Association for the Blind in Sharjah earlier, blind members gathered around the Eye-Pal and cheers were heard as it started reading different currencies, labels product boxes and pages of books, magazines, bills and brochures.

Ideally, a blind student may have access to the same materials in the lecture referring to printed handouts, quizzes, tests, text books and review sheets instantly as his / her sighted colleagues.

"We continue to push for increased independence and privacy in accessing printed materials for blind and visually impaired users", said Auda Hazeem, Nattiq's CEO, "the Eye-Pal is a break-through technology which empowers blind users and help them achieve maximum privacy and independence in reading", he added.

The Eye-Pal is also targeted at school children who hope to enhance their reading skills as well as those suffering from dyslexia. The Eye-Pal can be demonstrated at Nattiq's offices in Sharjah.