A group of boffins has transformed an N82 handset into a super-advanced text-reading device for the blind and partially-sighted.

We all know that the N82’s 5-megapixel camera is, scientifically speaking, “the nuts”, but researchers from KNFB Reading Technology have developed software that uses it to “read” a piece of printed text by taking a snap of it, then convert the text into synthetic speech – the idea being that partially-sighted people can have printed text read to them by a pocket-sized device. According to Dr Marc Maurer, president of the National Federation of the Blind, “No other device in the history of technology has provided such portability and quick access to printed material. This reader will make blind people dramatically more independent.” Clever stuff indeed…

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