One ring to read them all: This device literally puts words at your fingertips

 

 

As JRR Tolkien might have said, it's "The One Ring to read them all and in their blindness guide them."

The FingerReader helps guide visually-impaired users' hands over standard text, which can then be read out loud to them.
 

Scientists at the Massachussetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed the FingerReader, which can assist in reading printed text.

 

"Wearers scan a text line with their finger and receive an audio feedback of the words and a haptic feedback of the layout: start and end of line, new line, and other cues," the MIT said.

 

It said the FingerReader's algorithm can detect and give feedback when the user moves away from the baseline of the text.

 

The device also helps them maintain a straight scanning motion within the line.

 

MIT said the device can also be an aid for language translation.

 

In its FAQs, the MIT said the device "houses a tiny camera and some haptic actuators for feedback."

 

"(Users) can point their finger at the surface with the text and the device reads the words out loud," it said.

 

But MIT said the device is still a proof-of-concept prototype, and much work remains to be done, adding it needs to make the device "faster, more reliable, smaller and explore applications for people without visual impairments." — Joel Locsin / TJD, GMA News