Intel's Read-aloud Reader: Breakthrough for Dyslexics, Vision for 
the Blind
  BY Linda Tischler Today



Ben Foss was a bright kid, but as a student, he struggled with 
reading even the
simplest text.  Afflicted with severe dyslexia, he relied on 
parents and tutors
to read him his homework since the words on the page made no 
sense to him.  At
Stanford, he managed to earn two advanced degrees by laboriously 
scanning books
and then running them through synthetic speech software so he 
could comprehend
the words.
As an adult, much of the content he wanted in professional 
journals and
magazines wasn't available in audio form.
So, when he was hired as a researcher at Intel, he vowed to make 
designing a
reading device one of his first priorities.  At CES 2010, his 
brainchild, the
Intel Reader made its debut.  "Feelings of loneliness are often 
the experience of
not being able to read easily," he says, based on years of 
trying.  "We hope to
open the doors for people who have dyslexia, blindness or other 
reading-based
disabilities."
  The device, designed by Silicon Valley design shop, Lunar, for 
Intel's Digital
Health Group, is about the size of a paperback book or a 
hand-held video game.
It works by taking a picture of a page of text, then converting 
it to speech.
"It's designed around the ergonomics of reading," says Gretchen 
Anderson,
director of interaction design, at Lunar.  "It's purposefully not 
designed as a
digital camera.  You can use it with your elbows on the table, at 
the right
height."
There are an estimated 55 million people with dyslexia, low 
vision or blindness,
who find reading printed text difficult or impossible.  In 
addition to students,
the device is designed to be convenient for older people who find 
it hard to
read restaurant menus or mail, and it has clever tactile cues, 
such a corner cut
off like a dog eared book and buttons distinguishable by feel and 
location, to
help the blind orient themselves.
  A portable capture station allows users to scan larger amounts 
of text, such as
complete books or journals.  They can be saved, much as one would 
with an ebook,
for listening later.  The device comes with earphones for 
listening privately, in
the car, or in class, and files can also be exported to MP3 
players.
The device has been endorsed by the International Dyslexia 
Association and will
be available for about $1,500 through CTL, Don Johnston 
Incorporated, GTSI,
Howard Technology Solutions and HumanWare.  The capture station 
costs an extra
$400.
  "At CES, we see people who love their iPhones," says Lunar's 
director of
engineering, Robert Howard.  "When Intel demo-ed this, people who 
have dyslexia
could see their futures change when watching the device.  It's 
truly a
transformative device for people who haven't had a lot of 
transformation in
their lives."
  [Intel Reader]
  Copyright Ággc) 2010 Mansueto Ventures LLC.  All rights 
reserved.
Fast Company, 7 World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007-2195


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