Device helps the blind read
A whole new world opened up for Tommy Craig as he tested a new handheld device for the blind that converts print to audio.
Craig was able to "read" everything from menus to cooking directions by positioning the reader over print and taking a picture. In seconds, the device's synthetic voice read the printed message to him.
"The reader provides access to materials that a lot of times you just didn't read," said Craig, 51, of Austin, Texas, who was one of about 500 blind people who tested the device over the past few months. "It certainly makes you more independent."
The National Federation of the Blind plans to put the device on sale Saturday, when its annual meeting gets under way in Dallas.
