Text to Speech and Voice Phone Applications
These days as an added feature a lot of high end as well as some lower end handsets come preloaded with applications and settings that enable the handset to function to a certain extent by either voice commands to activate specific options - for which your verbal skills will have to be impeccable - or using the phone setting that voices out all options, menus, sub menus and even numbers that are dialed and the name that it’s stored under.
Of course most handsets that are enabled with these features are normal handsets that incorporate all the regular features as well. This is of course not the best option for the visually impaired but it is an option nevertheless. By activating these settings in a handset, a visually impaired individual can access all features except some like the internet, but incoming SMSs, the numbers form incoming calls if not saved in the phone book etc. can be read out.
A company called SpeechWorks International, Inc. has developed applications for mobile phones that will allow users to use their handsets in a similar way with their technology. SpeechWorks has now been bought over by Nuance Communications.
KNFB Reading Technologies and Nokia announced that the KNFB text-recognition system has been installed inside the Nokia N82 cell phone. A user holds the device in front of a sign or menu, and the built-in software takes a picture, interprets the text, and reads the text aloud using text-to-speech synthesis to allow the user to understand the content. Essentially, it's an OCR system tied to a text-to-speech synthesizer. It's designed to allow the blind to operate without the need of assistance from a sighted person, in a world that doesn't always provide Braille.
While there isn’t too much available for the blind mobile users yet, we have to commend the companies that are giving it their best shot in developing applications and handsets for these individuals. So far Spice is in the lead when it comes to handsets for the blind and I’m expecting a few of the other manufactures to follow suit.
If you're aware of any other technology like this please feel free to leave your comments. You never know when someone who could really be looking for this tech will check in.
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