[Reader-users] Optacon

[Tracy Carcione]

The Optacon has a camera which takes a picture of whatever it's looking at
and transmits the picture to a tactile array, which the user feels to
identify the picture.  The camera and the array are small, and take small
pictures, like one letter at a time, but the processing is a lot quicker
than that on the KNFB Reader, probably because the recognition is done by
the user, and the human brain is still faster at that kind of thing than a
computer.
I have one, and like it a lot.  I use it to read music, or to find a page
in a book.  However, once it gets going, the Reader or a scanner is
quicker at reading documents than the Optacon, so, once I've identified
what I want with the Optacon, I usually use something else to read the
doc, unless it's short.
But nothing else will read music as reliably, or let me look at a diagram.

It is still possible to buy Optacons, or get them repaired.  I can give
the relevant address to anyone who wants it.
Tracy

> Hi, I was wondering how the optacon worked I seen one back in the early
> 80's
> but did not have the chants to really look at it...Some one  was using it
> in a ofice and when I asked about it  they said they just got it and did
> not
> know that much about it...
>     thanks rob
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Evelyn Weckerly" <weckerly at i2k.com>
> To: "Kurzweil National Federation of the Blind Reader users list"
> <reader-users at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, November 28, 2006 9:54 PM
> Subject: Re: [Reader-users] Joined today
>
>
>> Hi,
>>
>> I had an Optacon thanks to the Mott Foundation. I had it from 1980
>> until I got version 2 of what is now k1000. I finally sold it to
>> someone who desperately wanted a spare because his job depended on
>> that technology.
>>
>> Evelyn
>>
>> At 07:55 PM 11/28/2006, you wrote:
>>>Hi users of the new Kurzweil NFB reader, Ken Lawrence Central  Chapter.
>>>Just
>>>joined the list today looking forward to the dialog and the  latest news
>>>concerning the reader.  I'm a bit of an old timer so I go back  to
>>>the Optacon's
>>>glory days.  just wondering how many users of the new  reader used to
>>> use
>>>the
>>>Optacon?  if you did, hope you saw the item in the  October monitor
>>> about
>>>the
>>>Optacon survey.  they're looking for users, and  people who don't use
>>>there
>>>Optacon any more.  they are thinking of putting  nonuse Optacons back in
>>>to
>>>circulation.  if they get enough response to it,  they may relaunch
>>>the Optacon
>>>with updated circuitry to make it possible for it  to read modern
>>>print formats
>>>and font sizes used today.  forget the email  address off hand, but
>>>does anyone
>>>on list remember what happened to the voice  output that was developed
>>> at
>>>around the same time as the First Kurzweil readers  that was mente for
>>> the
>>>Optacon?  also on a related question, oops, 2  questions, will
>>>future portable
>>>readers have a Braille display incorporated in  to it?  and also if a
>>> Car
>>>is
>>>developed for the blind, it seems a form of  the Kurzweil reader could
>>> be
>>>incorporated in to it so that a Street sign could  be read or even
>>>the menu at a drive
>>>through.  Yeah, it's a great time to be  blind Huh?  Ken.
>>>
>>>I pledge to  participate actively in the efforts of the national
>>>federation
>>>of the blind to  achieve equality, opportunity, and security for the
>>>blind; to
>>>support the  policies and programs of the federation; and abide by it's
>>>constitution.
>>>
>>>
>>>_______________________________________________
>>>Reader-users mailing list
>>>Reader-users at nfbnet.org
>>>http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/reader-users
>>
>
>
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