New Technology on 'FingerReader' Device Enables Visually Impaired to Read in Real-Time

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have created a device to aid the vision-impaired by allowing them to read in real-time.

The device, aptly named the "FingerReader," sits on the index finger of the wearer and scans and reads text audibly to them. The voice they hear is a synthesized one, and it can translate books, restaurant menus, and other texts, all of which could prove invaluable for improving the daily lives of those with impaired vision. 

According to Boston.com, the FingerReader is currently just a prototype and was built using a 3-D printer. The key is in the software which tracks the user's finger trajectory and then processes the text and turns it into audible words. It also has built in vibration feedback to notify users when they drift away from the text. 

The FingerReader's development required three years or software coding, design experimentation and focus group trials to get to this point. And according to researchers, there's still a long way to go before the concept is truly realized, including integrating the FingerReader with smartphones.

Roy Shilkrot, lead developer for the device at MIT, says eventually they want to market the FingerReader to visually impaired consumers, though he has no estimate on a price at this time.

The U.S. Census Bureau stats show that there are some 11.2 million people with vision impairment in the United States, so the potential market is there if Shilkrot and his team can deliver a marketable product. 

That shouldn't be too tough since current comparable technology used in homes and offices requires much more time to process the scanned text before it can be read to the user.

According to Shilkrot, the FingerReader is not meant to replace Braille but instead to make audible text technology less cumbersome and more portable for those who can benefit from it. This technology has the potential to deliver access to whole troves of text that haven't been translated in to braille.

According to Boston.com, the FingerReader can read text on paper, in books and magazines and on computer screens, though touch screens for now present a problem.

This is because the FingerReader requires readers to place their finger on the surface they are reading from, which on a touch screen would mean moving the text on the screen.

Still, the future of this technology is beyond promising and should deliver an affordable means of instant reading for the visually impaired and thus place a whole new world at their finger tips.