A Display Reader for the Vision Impaired.

A major problem for individuals who are blind and individuals who are visually impaired is gaining access to printed or graphical information. Whereas Braille and screen reading software make it possible to convert printed material from books or web-based content, there are thousands of types of electronic displays and visual screens showing dynamically changing digital information which are completely inaccessible to this disability population. One need only look at the devices in his/her kitchen, stereo rack or favorite vending machine to appreciate the variety of such digital displays and how difficult it would be to have no visual access to the information they provide. The Advanced Medical Electronics Corporation believes that current and future smart phones being used by persons who are blind/visually impaired can perform the application of real time reading of electronic displays. The objective of this project is to develop a software application that will run off many of the new smart phones. The advantage of the proposed approach is that the software application can run on equipment that the user who is blind/visually impaired already owns and is presently using for communication and other applications. By leveraging a platform that is familiar and able to serve multiple purposes, the Advanced Medical Electronics Corporation's design avoids some shortcomings common in the development of adaptive technology. Integration of the applicant's software with off-the-shelf hardware not only could potentially address a major unmet need but also significantly impact acceptance by the target disability population.