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iPhone app helps the blind ID currency
Identifying different denominations of dollar bills has long been a problem for the sight-impaired in the US. A US$1 bill is the same size and shape as a $100 bill, making them hard to differentiate. Many use techniques like folding different bills into different shapes, but this doesn't help when receiving change in a store. LookTel now has an app called Money Reader for the iPhone 4/3GS and fourth-generation iPod touch which will check bills and speak their values out loud. LookTel says its Money Reader can use the iPhone's camera to "read" currency and speak its value aloud in real time, and the app doesn't need an internet connection. It currently recognises $1, $2, $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100 bills, and it costs $2 from the App Store. The Treasury Department was ordered last year to change US currency to make it easier for the blind and partially-sighted to identify it -- other countries make their notes different sizes and shapes to help with this -- but until then, this could be a big help.
Geddes Reader DIY reading aid for the partially sighted
It may not be as portable or as flashy as some reading devices for the blind or partially sighted, but this new reading aid hack also doesn't cost upwards of $4,000. Created by 86-year old Edinburgh-resident Les Geddes, a retiree who used to develop weapons guidance systems, the homebrew solution is basically just a high-resolution video camera connected to a TV; it seems to get the job done, enlarging anything you swipe it over to a readable size, and it can be yours for nothing more than a donation of £50 (just under $100) -- presumably, it's a bring-your-own-display deal. In true DIY-fashion, Geddes also says he intends to make the plans for the device, dubbed the Geddes Reader, available on the Internet, though we're guessing some of you can throw caution to the wind and whip one up without a manual.[Via Scotsman.com]
