Intel debuts mobile text reader
Intel has launched a mobile reading device with a twist. Instead of displaying text, it converts the printed page into an audio rendition.
The Intel Reader is aimed at people with a wide variety of visual and reading problems, from blindness to dyslexia. Around the size of a paperback, it combines a 5 megapixel camera with an Atom processor to take an image of a passage of text and convert it to synthesized speech.
The user can either listen to the audio there and then, or store it as an audio file (which can be converted to MP3). There’s also an option to adjust the speed of the speech to find a balance between the audio being understandable and saving time. The device comes with 4GB of storage, enough for 500,000 pages of text or 600 pages including images.
The device is retailing in the U.S. and Canada for around $1,500. There’s also an optional $399 portable capture station. This mounts the reader on a platform, pointing down at a tray which can hold a book or magazine in place for quicker processing. Intel says it takes around 30 minutes to scan an entire 250 page book and another 60 minutes to process it.
However, while the device can be used for converting an entire book, its main purpose is for quick conversions of literature such as brochures, letters, notices and restaurant menus. When used “on the fly”, the device takes around 30 second to scan and process a full page of text.
There is something of a learning curve, particularly when used without the capture station, in taking good quality shots with suitable lighting to get the highest degree of accuracy in the audio rendition.
Intel says it has worked with several disability groups and the device has been endorsed by the International Dyslexia Association.
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