Cell Phone With Special Software Can Read Documents Aloud, Giving Blind a Convenient Aid

ALEX DOMINGUEZ
AP News

Chris Danielsen fidgets with the cell phone, holding it over a $20 bill.

"Detecting orientation, processing U.S. currency image," the phone says in a flat monotone before Danielsen snaps a photo. A few seconds later, the phone says, "Twenty dollars."

Danielsen, a spokesman for the National Federation of the Blind, is holding the next generation of computerized aids for the blind and visually impaired.

The Nokia cell phone is loaded with software that turns text on photographed documents into speech. In addition to telling whether a bill is worth $1, $5, $10 or $20, it also allows users to read anything that is photographed, whether it's a restaurant menu, a phone book or a fax.

While the technology is not new, the NFB and the software's developer say the cell phone is the first to incorporate the text-to-speech ability.