Intel Reader reads books to the lazy and infirm (video)
By Vladislav Savov 
posted Nov 10th 2009 9:59AM
posted Nov 10th 2009 9:59AM
Ready, Set, Read: Intel® Reader Transforms Printed Text to Spoken Word
Intel Launches Mobile Handheld Device for People with Reading-Based Disabilities, such as Dyslexia or Low-Vision, or for Those Who are Blind
* The new Intel Reader, a mobile handheld device, increases independence for people with reading-based disabilities.
* The size of a paperback book, the Intel Reader converts printed text to digital text and then reads it aloud to the user.
* The Intel Reader can help the estimated 55 million people in the U.S. who have specific learning disabilities such as dyslexia or vision problems.
SANTA CLARA, Calif., Nov. 10, 2009 – Intel Corporation today announced the Intel® Reader, a mobile handheld device designed to increase independence for people who have trouble reading standard print. The Intel Reader can assist the estimated 55 million people in the U.S. who have dyslexia or other specific learning disabilities, or have vision problems such as low-vision or blindness, which makes reading printed words difficult or impossible.
The Intel Reader, about the size of a paperback book, converts printed text to digital text, and then reads it aloud to the user. Its unique design combines a high-resolution camera with the power of an Intel® Atom™ processor, allowing users to point, shoot and listen to printed text. The Intel Reader will be available in the United States through select resellers, including CTL, Don Johnston Incorporated, GTSI, Howard Technology Solutions and HumanWare.
When the Intel Reader is used together with the Intel® Portable Capture Station, large amounts of text, such as a chapter or an entire book, can be easily captured for reading later. Users will have convenient and flexible access to a variety of printed materials, helping to not only increase their freedom, but improve their productivity and efficiency at school, work and home. The Intel Reader has been endorsed by the International Dyslexia Association as an important advance in assistive technology. Additionally, Intel is working with the Association of Assistive Technology Act Programs, the Council for Exceptional Children, Lighthouse International, the National Center for Learning Disabilities and the National Federation of the Blind to help reach and address the needs of people who have difficulty reading print.
"The Intel Digital Health Group's expertise is in finding innovative technology solutions to improve quality of life," said Louis Burns, vice president and general manager of Intel's Digital Health Group. "We are proud to offer the Intel Reader as a tool for people who have trouble reading standard print so they can more easily access the information many of us take for granted every day, such as reading a job offer letter or even the menu at a restaurant."
The original concept for the Intel Reader came from Ben Foss, a researcher at Intel who was identified in elementary school as one of the estimated 20 percent of people nationwide who have symptoms of dyslexia. Throughout high school, college and graduate school, he had to depend on others to read to him or work through the slow process of getting words off of a page himself. As an adult, much of the content he wanted, from professional journals to pleasure reading, just wasn't available in audio form.
"As someone who is part of this dyslexic community, I am thrilled to be able to help level the playing field for people who, like me, do not have easy access to the printed word," Foss said. "Feelings of loneliness are often the experience of not being able to read easily. We hope to open the doors for people in these communities. The Intel Reader is a tool that can help give people with dyslexia, low-vision, blindness or other reading-based disabilities access to the resources they need to participate and be successful in school, work and life."
Intel Launches Mobile Handheld Device for People with Reading-Based Disabilities, such as Dyslexia or Low-Vision, or for Those Who are Blind
* The new Intel Reader, a mobile handheld device, increases independence for people with reading-based disabilities.
* The size of a paperback book, the Intel Reader converts printed text to digital text and then reads it aloud to the user.
* The Intel Reader can help the estimated 55 million people in the U.S. who have specific learning disabilities such as dyslexia or vision problems.
SANTA CLARA, Calif., Nov. 10, 2009 – Intel Corporation today announced the Intel® Reader, a mobile handheld device designed to increase independence for people who have trouble reading standard print. The Intel Reader can assist the estimated 55 million people in the U.S. who have dyslexia or other specific learning disabilities, or have vision problems such as low-vision or blindness, which makes reading printed words difficult or impossible.
The Intel Reader, about the size of a paperback book, converts printed text to digital text, and then reads it aloud to the user. Its unique design combines a high-resolution camera with the power of an Intel® Atom™ processor, allowing users to point, shoot and listen to printed text. The Intel Reader will be available in the United States through select resellers, including CTL, Don Johnston Incorporated, GTSI, Howard Technology Solutions and HumanWare.
When the Intel Reader is used together with the Intel® Portable Capture Station, large amounts of text, such as a chapter or an entire book, can be easily captured for reading later. Users will have convenient and flexible access to a variety of printed materials, helping to not only increase their freedom, but improve their productivity and efficiency at school, work and home. The Intel Reader has been endorsed by the International Dyslexia Association as an important advance in assistive technology. Additionally, Intel is working with the Association of Assistive Technology Act Programs, the Council for Exceptional Children, Lighthouse International, the National Center for Learning Disabilities and the National Federation of the Blind to help reach and address the needs of people who have difficulty reading print.
"The Intel Digital Health Group's expertise is in finding innovative technology solutions to improve quality of life," said Louis Burns, vice president and general manager of Intel's Digital Health Group. "We are proud to offer the Intel Reader as a tool for people who have trouble reading standard print so they can more easily access the information many of us take for granted every day, such as reading a job offer letter or even the menu at a restaurant."
The original concept for the Intel Reader came from Ben Foss, a researcher at Intel who was identified in elementary school as one of the estimated 20 percent of people nationwide who have symptoms of dyslexia. Throughout high school, college and graduate school, he had to depend on others to read to him or work through the slow process of getting words off of a page himself. As an adult, much of the content he wanted, from professional journals to pleasure reading, just wasn't available in audio form.
"As someone who is part of this dyslexic community, I am thrilled to be able to help level the playing field for people who, like me, do not have easy access to the printed word," Foss said. "Feelings of loneliness are often the experience of not being able to read easily. We hope to open the doors for people in these communities. The Intel Reader is a tool that can help give people with dyslexia, low-vision, blindness or other reading-based disabilities access to the resources they need to participate and be successful in school, work and life."
or the STIG
for 1499 you could throw an i7 in there lol..
where the hell was that money spent?
must be co-made with apple
buying off the SAG(Screen Actors Guild).
but does it read to you in Samuel L Jacksons voice? or what about Hank Williams? Sean Connery? or at the very least, rosanne arnold?
Yes, there's nothing that says 'for the visually impaired' like tiny buttons with small icons that are hard to see under normal lighting conditions.
People with visual impairments have regular-old hands and fingers, you know. They wouldn't be relying on the pictographic symbol on the button so much as the understanding of what the buttons do, their placement, and the audio feedback from the device. The icons are probably raised to give some tactile feedback, but even so, it's really not that important.
Here's a link to a video of Stevie Wonder using a multitrack audio recorder placed on top of his keyboard. Click on the picture for the QT video.
http://www.aef.com/industry/industry_leaders/from_the_front_lines/3001
How do you find the keys on a keyboard without looking at the keys?
Blind people do the same thing other people do. Practice and remember.
If the keys are all flush like Motorola devices, they simply put a dab of glue on frequently used or landmark buttons.
In some cases I think small unmarked buttons bother sighted people more because we expect to see visual cues and rely on multiple sources of input. If one lacks information the whole system becomes debilitated. Yet at the same time we fumble for car stereo controls, signals and gear shifts in the dark without a second thought.
Complicated non-speech menu trees and multiple buttons with frequently changing functions cause trouble. But then again, they irritate me as well.
Text-to-speech on a book-reading device? The Author's Guild ain't gonna like that much
Copyright HELL!!
I would disagree with the author of this post. This device looks quite solid, befitting all-day use by someone who is visually impaired, the strobe flash is presumably pretty bright to get the quality needed for text-to-speech, and the text-to-speech performance can always be upgraded or altered, since it's software.
Sure, you could build something that did something similar for less money, but would you then be able to give it to a nearly blind person to use all day, everyday? Completely implausible for $500.
Besides, the target audience for this device is disabled -- it should be paid for by 3rd parties because it meets the requirements to be classed as an aide for the disabled.
Hi Dennis:
I think that's the problem. Not sure if your sighted or not. In these days of tight funds, people won't be able to afford this device. These people develope products and don't develope the funding necessary for their purchase. If your on medicare, it wount be paid for by them. For that price, you can fully equip a netbook with a screen access program and have more abilities than this device. Time will tell if this is just another expensive devise that many people can't afford.
It's unfortunate that there's apparently not more financial support for people with visual impairments to get access to this sort of device. It seems like a device that gives people access to written documents as they exist for sighted people should get some kind of priority, side by side with the provision of braille documents. Of course, it would also be nice of our paper currency were of different sizes, like in Europe, so that they could be easily distinguished by touch.
I definitely agree that this product is expensive; just not that it is outrageously priced for what it seems to achieve, which is something durable with a wide range of usage scenarios. You could take it into a library with headphones, a business meeting to read documents, a restaurant to read the menu, etc. It's possible that these things will show up in libraries to increase access to their collection, and thus be paid for by institutions instead of individuals to some degree.
Maybe an add-on module for commercially available digital cameras would be a better target as far as cost goes.
No need at all to drop $1,499 into something like this. $399 Android phone ($0 w/2yr contract) + some open-source software should do it.
I'm thinking of EyesFree Shell+TalkBack+Intuitit OCR IME+Pico TTS+TTS Extended+Talking Browser (when they fix it)+dozens of other talking apps. Bonus: you get multi-language TTS thrown in courtesy of eSpeak. All for $zilch extra.
Well at least it looks like an early 00's PMP.
I like how he mispronounces "Wonderland" after the reader does, as if it was correct.
For $1500 one could get private reading lessons...maybe for $150...
That thing is huge! That voice sounds worse then a pure synthetic voice when it is speaking.
Duh, it's $1,500 because it's a niche device. Buy a clue they're not going to be selling millions of these things at a slim profit margin...
I don't know what you guys are smoking, but if this thing can actually take a picture of text and read it back, 1500 bucks is a bargain. Think of what this can do for the blind. And think of where this can go. Someday a blind person could wear a little camera pinned to their shirt and it could read them every sign they come across in public right through a pair of headphones. Dollars schmollars!
When that day comes, I intend to be the first to Rick Roll a blind person in such a setting.
I love how the author thinks this can be created for a lower cost. If this fool thinks it is so easy to do then please create a product for the visually impaired like myself for $500 and I will buy three of them. I have been in this industry for 25 years and I am grateful to see that Intel has jumped into the market to help the blind.
These are the type of people I hope go visually impaired and then realize how hard it is to affoard technology to compete with the globlal market. Of course he would then be one of the 70% unemployed. Good luck buying one then as a lazy blind author.
I like this device as well. If it comes to market in time, I'm going to force my siblings to chip in an buy one for my dad for Christmas. As a lazy, infirm blind person he could use it to go along with his voice gps, ipod nano filled with audio books, and talking laptop that help him sit around the house all day and do nothing since he's apparently incapable.
"Yes, it's a customized niche device, but we reckon we could build something similar for a third of the price"- OK man up and do it then engadget, then retail it for $500... think what a wonderful thing you'll be doing for the visually impaired! What's stopping you bitches?
Seriously. They're channeling a bit of Michael Arrington there, and we all know how the CrunchPad has turned out (at least twice as expensive as he thought it would be, if it ever even releases at a price).
Agreed this thing could cost less....
But...similar devices cost about the same
The NFB (National Federation for the Blind) have a device that runs on Nokia S60 that is essentially the same thing for again well over $1,000 USD. Then there are the various text to speech reader devices all coming in at a MINIMUM of $350. Not to mention the fact that the book playing software for computers come in at again a minimum of $150. Don't believe me?
KNFB Reader Mobile = $900 (not including phone)
Humanware Victor Reader = $349
gh Player Cheapest DAISY commercial reader Software on the Market = $175
There are some problems going on here though:
a) These companies are developing for half of one percent, the western world's print disabled. And these devices cost money to develop, test, and certify.
b) Indicative of the previous statement, main stream mass produced products are simply not built to do this quite yet, or at the least well enough to depend on.
For example the iPhone 3GS introduced a full scale screen reader on the device. The first mobile to be released with a fully capable screen reader, but it still comes in under the capabilities of a Windows Mobile phone equipped with Mobile Speak (http://www.codefactory.es/en/products.asp?id=36). Companies are just starting to try to meet everyone's needs in society, and with an aging society they are realizing that adaptive technology will become main stream if they want to keep their available market size.
Now when the audio equivalent of the Kindle costs a minimum of $350 and the same software for a mobile (Windows Mobile/S60 Only) costs $175, it’s hard to imagine how backwards the situation is…
"What is the use of a book" reader, for $1,500?
Uncool title.
My father has been blind his whole life. He uses devices like this on a daily basis. Actually, he's the CEO of a mid sized business. Niether lazy nor infirm. You missed the boat on who this is marketed towards.
They're not "presenting" it as a necessity rather than a luxury, it IS a necessity for those who would buy it. Not everyone can afford to pay someone to sit and read every piece of paper that comes by, and then follow them around with a file folder and reread a page when they feel like looking back at a document.
They're all expensive because the market is so small. I saw the price and thought "reasonable."
The text to speech is inhuman because machines can't understand inflection and interpret meaning. That it pronounces accurately IS stellar.
When you're going to be incredibly flippant about a device, it helps to actually research the market it's intended for.
"When you're going to be incredibly flippant about a device, it helps to actually research the market it's intended for."
But, but, but...then it wouldn't be engadget anymore! Making incredibly flippant remarks that miss the point is what they do...
我建议，把四库全书拍下来。
我要好好听一听。
最好要请人写个注脚。也拍下来。左声道放《四库全书》右声道放注脚。
Maybe someone can port the software to run on the Droid with an ARM?
It's easy to say that you can build something cheaper when you haven't actually built anything at all. And the title really shows a lack of respect unfortunately. It's not that funny if it was meant to be a joke.
let's look at the purported features of this device realistically.
The good:
* 5 MP camera
*built-in optical character recognition
* atom processor for rapid recognition
* DAISY reading (http://www.daisy.org)
* protected shell
* screen for large print users
* the accompanying case
the bad, (could be improved with future firmware updates) or other decisions:
* TTS (limited options under Linux but not the only one out there)
*file type support--lack of HTML, PDF, epub, word/open office/rtf reading is a significant down side.
* lack of formatting support Losing important formatting information such as font is a major limitation.
* pricing. $1400 for a device with limited capabilities is extremely high. Apple has shown that true accessibility can be built into their devices and software by introducing the iPhone 3GS and the iPod touch. Despite the apparent dislike by one commenter earlier who believes that the iPhone does not compare to Windows Mobile, many successful blind people are using the iPhone with the built-in solution without paying the blindness tax/premium.
* the additional charge or the position stand that will help afix the camera in a single spot.
The ugly, (unfixable with current hardware):
* 2 GB built-in storage. I'm sorry Guys, flash is extremely cheap. Don't tell me that you couldn't come up with larger storage. And, iwth a device of that size, don't tell me that you could find a way to expand the storage.
* lack of internet connectivity. The fact that there are no wireless capabilities built-in is an extremely poor decision. And the introductory article on Venturebeat mentioning that campuses do not provide wireless is a pathetic excuse. Frankly, if you don't want to include wireless, just don't. But do not make up nonexistent reasons for not having a feature. Perhaps Intel lives in 1990's to think that college campuses do not provide wireless access to their students.
* the size. if you expect people to carry a device, it should be um "caryable." I have neough to carry without having worry about yet another device.
* battery life. Having 4 hours of battery life per charge is an absolute disgrace. Million hours of standby life is absolutely irrelevant. The reading device could be dead for all I care during the time it's not being used. By not including wireless or other computer-like or phone-like capabilities, it was made perfectly clear that this device would not be used for anything else. So all that makes a difference is reading and actual reading.
* large buttons. Ok could be good, I think for a population of seniors who are losing sight. But then, don't market this to the college-age population. The ugliness factor alone is a turn-off.
I admire the willingness to look at a real need and try to solve that problem. There are plenty of devices that will read content from internet archives or public domain material. The real need lies in getting access to material that is not in the public domain, material such as textbooks and novels. Efforts to solve those problem would be met with more welcome arms. There appears to be very little effort here to solve those problems. It certainly is important to have a device that one can carry to read the plethora of printed material that a blind or visually impaired person encounters. With its size, this device appears to make it *a bit* difficult to do just that. I will applaud the effort and the thought behind it. I will, however, give the execution of those ideas 4.5 on a scale from 1 to 10.
Turning to the Engadget article headline--I must say I find it insulting.
I must disagree with Dennis who said, "Besides, the target audience for this device is disabled -- it should be paid for by 3rd parties because it meets the requirements to be classed as an
aide for the disabled."
I'm afraid no third-party in the U.S. except some rehab systems would pay for this device.
"the infirm, or the just lazy" would be a far more tactful phasing--unless you truly believe the handicapped are just faking it.
"Sure, you could build something that did something similar for less money, but would you then be able to give it to a nearly blind person to use all day, everyday? Completely implausible for $500."
On-device OCR software exists for Android, which means a $100 reading device after carrier rebates. And yes, Android has text-to-speech. Also, you can call people with it.
See: http://code.google.com/p/eyes-free/source/browse/#svn/trunk/ocr
Designing a large, single-use device for the blind is, to put it bluntly, stupid. It's like having a toaster that only works for hot dogs (thank you SkyMall). Nobody wants to carry around a bulky reading device, a bulky currency recognition device, and a bulky color recognition device if they can carry a single device that combines the functionality of all of these niche devices.
Lazy and infirm? Thanks, I work hard to overcome stereotypes such as those put forward in your article title. Curious what lazy or infirm has to do with the subject of the post anyways.
Price: not bad thoughh the vast majority of blind and low vision people couldn't afford it without governmental assistance.
The device: too big, terrible voice quality and nothing I'd purchase. And, I happen to be able to afford such a product if I chose to purchase it. Go back and improve the voice quality and perhaps I'd consider it.
Soon, cell phones will have quality cameras in them at 5 or more mega pixels and the power inside to support applications that can do this. I say hold your money and wait.
*Microsoft Sam Voice* I can read to you after I rape your pocket.
You know who really annoy me? All those lazy people in expensive wheelchairs. Just take some walking lessons!
I have read engadget for a long time and understand the flippant nature of their reporting. Sometimes that kind of reporting/writing needs to be edited better and given more thought. Others have made this point, yet I am going to repeat one specific complaint and one comment. The word infirm is defined by Merriam-Websters "as of poor or deteriorated vitality; especially : feeble from age". A person who would benefit greatly from this device are neither feeble from age nor deteriorating vitality. It is highly insulting to use language without truly knowing what one is talking about, please engadget, take the time to understand the devices you are commenting about. As far as the price of the device, the real complaint is how people with different abilities have to pay high prices for niche devices and how sometimes it is difficult to receive help in paying for devices with a limited market. Let us remember that a device like this can make a huge difference in peoples everyday lives. Now reporting on these device clearly and respectfully would do society a greater service than reporting on one more cell phone no one is going to buy.
Well, that was really obnoxious. Can't find more offensive statements to make? How about a few more ad hominems to toss in while you make baseless assumptions.
Let's see you make a device that fully means Section 508 standards cheaply, that can actually be used by a person who may not have sight. Or who perhaps doesn't haven't full motor dexterity and relies on alternative navigation techniques. Is a missing limb in addition to a visual disability still "lazy" or does that person get default credit for effort?
This wasn't flippant. This was bigoted in the most mean spirited and vehemently inappropriate, antagonistic form I have seen in this End Gadget in quite some time.
For 1500$ the voice sounds more rigid and annoying than the denso voice navigational system and non-human like. By now they should have at least advanced on voice synthesizing so that users can't differentiate between human and artificial voice.
I have a real problem with the title of this article. Anyone who is "lazy" isn't going to go through all that trouble just to read. And "infirm"? Please, that's just lazy writing.
Vladislav Savov said, "...but we reckon we could build something similar for a third of the price...". Well, I challenge him or Engadget to do so. If you really could do that, you'd have blind people lined up around the block to buy your device. Seriously, if you could even do it at HALF the price, you could make a lot of people's lives more accessible.