Braille Monitor July 2006
by James Gashel
From the Editor: Jim Gashel is the executive director
for strategic initiatives for the National Federation of the Blind. He has been
as involved as anyone in the planning and development of the Kurzweil�National
Federation of the Blind Reader. Now that the beta testing period is drawing
to a close, it seemed appropriate to ask him to make the announcement of the
extraordinary results of the collaboration between technological genius and
the knowledge and expertise of blind people. This is what he says:
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In 1975 Ray Kurzweil invented the first multi-font optical character recognition (OCR) technology capable of converting printed characters into full-word synthetic speech. This system, which was about the size of a small dishwasher, was called the Kurzweil Reading Machine. Joining with Ray Kurzweil to test and launch this product, the NFB secured financial support to purchase six preproduction units at a cost of $50,000 each. This technology was unique and revolutionary in its time.
Personal computers were not widely available and were not a mass-consumer product in the 1970's, so the original Kurzweil Reading Machine was a stand-alone, dedicated reading system with its own internal computer and built-in scanner. Today the more modern version of the same technology--the Kurzweil 1000--is computer software running on a standard desktop PC connected to a scanner.
Although a certain amount of competition has developed over the last thirty years, the Kurzweil Reading Machine and its offspring have been widely regarded as the gold standard in text-to-speech conversion technology. However, having this technology in a completely portable form has been an unrealized dream. That was true until March 2006, when blind people throughout the United States started to learn about and use the world's first handheld, text-to-speech electronic reading system for the blind. This is called the Kurzweil�National Federation of the Blind Reader.
The name says it all. Unlike the Kurzweil Reading Machine, named for Ray Kurzweil as its inventor, the portable Reader has been designed by Ray Kurzweil and the National Federation of the Blind. Therefore this device bears both names. This name also symbolizes the fact that the blind themselves have played a leading role in making the world's first completely portable reader a reality.
The Reader combines the latest state-of-the-art digital camera technology with a powerful personal data assistant (PDA). These components are housed in a custom-designed vinyl case that also contains internal circuitry to connect the camera and PDA to operate as a single system. Aside from this hardware, the software is completely new in blindness technology, with several features especially designed for this unique device.
Here are some of the vital statistics: the Reader is 6 inches
long, 3 inches wide, and 2-1/2 inches thick and weighs 15 ounces. Although the
Reader is about a thousand times smaller than the original Kurzweil Reading
Machine, the PDA in the portable Reader is two thousand times faster. In fact,
the portable Reader can execute about 500 million instructions per second as
compared to 250,000 instructions per second for the Kurzweil Reading Machine.
It also has a thousand times more memory (64 megabytes as compared to 64 kilobytes).
But the real difference is to have the power of reading in the palm of your
hand. Here are a few reactions from early users known as "Reader ambassadors"
and "Reader pioneers":
Dwight Sayer: I have a neat story. Last week my BrailleNote rep came over to
bring my GPS unit and some software. She had gotten the disks mixed up, and
no one sighted was around. She couldn't tell which one was mine. I said, "Wait
a second . . ." I picked up a disk and shot a picture just pointing the Reader
straight at it. . . . In a few seconds the Reader just rattled off the text
on the CD, and I found I had my software right in my hands. The rep, who was
drooling by that time, spent the next hour or so testing the Reader on everything
from her checkbook to a receipt she had in her purse. By the way the ATM receipts
that pop out of our great ATM machine at the National Center were read with
ease as I was wondering what my balance was. . . . This little machine is a
keeper!
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Ron Gardner: The first thing I did with the Reader was go around
my home snapping photos of the wall hangings. My grandchildren have given us
some very precious quotes which are contained in framed hanging art. The quotes
are covered with glass, and I wondered if the glass would reflect too much light.
I am happy to report that the Reader worked with or without the flash, and the
glass did not prevent a great job. It was terrific to be able to read these
things from my grandchildren!
Ramona Walhof: I demonstrated the Reader at my Lions Club this morning. I started
with the Idaho Potato Cookbook, which it does very well. It also read
the restaurant menu quite well, although it was green print on white inside
plastic. The Lions were more than astonished by its performance.
Amber Chesser: After over a month of anticipation and after a week of reading about everyone's experiences, I finally began using my Reader on Friday afternoon. What a wonderful beginning it was, and what a wonderful weekend of reading I have had! The Reader exceeded my expectations from the moment I took it out of the box. It looked completely different from anything I had imagined. . . . The unit is not bulky or too large; I definitely plan to carry it to all of my university classes as well as to concerts, meetings, and anywhere else I go every day.
I was also quite surprised at the accuracy with which I took
the pictures from the start. . . .I could write a lengthy post brimming with
enthusiastic descriptions of everything that I read over the weekend. . . .
I recognize that there are definitely developments to be made, but at this time
the marvelous designers and developers have hit the nail on the head. Thanks,
National Federation of the Blind, for the honor of being a tester and for such
an exciting creation!
Karl Smith: I just had to write one more time about my experiences at CSUN with
the Reader. This morning I attended a session discussing the future of accessibility
for portable computer platforms. This was more or less a discussion session
with not a whole lot of substance. During the presentation the presenter mentioned
that the NFB was about to announce the new Reader. Being much like a proud grandpa
with new pictures of his grandkids, I pulled my machine out and waved it over
my head. The presenter acknowledged that someone in the room actually had one.
The fun started after the end of the presentation. I was suddenly surrounded
by a large group of people wanting to see the Reader and know how it worked.
Someone gave me a legal-sized piece of print to read. . . A short time later
my trusty Reader began reading information on augmentative communication. Everyone
listened very quietly because of the low volume of the PDA speakers, while the
reading kept going and going with pretty much flawless results.
It was then that the man who gave me the paper admitted that
he had purposely given me what he considered to be a particularly awful piece
of material to scan. It was a printout of a half dozen or so PowerPoint slides
from another presentation. For me it was another one of those dream demos. It
went perfectly, and everyone was very excited. . . . Several of the people said
that this was the best part of the session. Folks, this thing is . . . the beginning
of a revolution. Rarely does a piece of technology by itself really represent
the beginning of an entirely new era for the blind. This one does just that
. . . man, this thing is fun.
Vickie Saucier: I have now had my Reader for three days, and I agree with Gary.
You're not getting it back except for repairs, if needed. I've experienced all
the problems and limitations that everyone else has mentioned. When Jim first
demonstrated it, I was in tears, and I still feel that way. At the first brief
demonstration by my representative, I was terrified and thought that I'd never
be able to use it. Changing that battery seemed difficult: remembering the commands,
focusing, flash cards, etc. really caused me some alarm, since I am not a teckie
like some of you. However, I mastered all those things except for the flash
card (I just have to read the instruction manual, and I'll know how to do that
too). I even demonstrated how to do all those things to another pioneer who
didn't attend the demonstration. I am looking forward to all the future improvements,
but for now I'm happy reading those Jell-O boxes and cleaning a bookshelf in
my office without sighted assistance. It goes everywhere with me, and next week
it's going to see Mickey with me and my grandson at one of my favorite places
on the planet, Disney World.
Juliett Cody: Yes, the Reader is good on bulletin boards. I did it on campus
today, and I was pleased. I was looking for scholarship applications, so the
postings were as large as a regular page. I must admit it was wonderful to walk
into the scholarship office and not have to wait until someone could help me.
I love the Reader, and, like I said before, I am not returning it.
Ron Brown: On April 22 the Indiana State Library held a technology fair. The
NFB of Indiana was invited to show off NEWSLINE, so I decided to take the Reader
to the technology fair without any forewarning to the host. I charged up my
Reader, got together some prearranged documents to read, and went to the fair.
When I got to our booth, I set up shop and waited for the participants to come
by. It took only a few minutes for word to spread that the Reader was there.
Needless to say, the Reader was a big hit. Ours became the most popular booth at the fair. Not only did the participants stop by, so did the other presenters. The Reader and I worked from 10:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. nonstop. It worked this long without my having to charge the battery. I had to change the camera battery only once. Some of the people that gathered around started handing me other documents to read. I took those documents and shot pictures of them, and the Reader performed like a champ. I started grabbing Kernel books off the table and any other document in sight to read. Yes, I threw caution to the wind and went for it. When I opened a Kernel Book and held it away from me up in the air; one guy from the crowd stated, "He's holding the book upside down," and I shot the picture anyway. The Reader read the page about Mount Everest being the tallest mountain in the world. I guess the Kernel Book story I grabbed was "The Summit." The crowd went wild. I was told three people asked how they could join the NFB.
All in all it was a beautiful day, and the Reader was a big
hit. I have the sore feet and the loss of my voice from talking so much to prove
it.
James Solem: Recently I passed my prelim exams for my Ph.D. Needless to say,
the work has just begun. Yet the Kurzweil�National Federation of the Blind Reader
is making it possible. With the use of the Reader I was able to complete the
proposal, research prospectus, human subject review summary form, and the informed
consent form. Before having access to the Reader, I was unable to read italics.
The Reader does an outstanding job of enabling the blind to complete legal documents.
I am currently scanning research information that I have pulled
from numerous libraries. I can read it remotely at the university library, study
hall, gym, or home. This has freed me from having to need a reader to complete
my dissertation. I finally feel like I have a tool that has made me independent
and equal with my sighted peers.
These comments indicate an overall positive response among early users of the
Kurzweil�National Federation of the Blind Reader, and we are only at the dawn
of this exciting new technology. Imagine what the future has in store for us
with this technology we have created to meet our needs. Now that the Reader
we have dreamed about is real, we have the opportunity and the ability to build
upon this new beginning and make our Reader an even more powerful tool in the
months and years ahead.
Even with its present capacity, however, the Kurzweil�National Federation of the Blind Reader reads most printed documents, from letters and memos to pages in a book; reads address labels and instructions; reads an entire page or just a few lines of text for identification; and provides easy access to restaurant menus. The Reader even reads play or concert programs, instructions for appliances, and numbers on lottery tickets--the possibilities are endless.
There are hundreds of uses for the Reader every day. No other device in the history of technology for the blind has provided quicker access to more printed information than the Kurzweil�National Federation of the Blind Reader. The world of the printed word is about to be opened to the blind in a way it has never been before. Get ready; the revolution begins today!
For more information contact the National Federation of the Blind Reader information and sales line at (877) 708-1724. A limited number of Readers are available at a special inaugural discount of $200 below the expected retail price of $3,495.