New Finger Device Reads Books To The Blind

Researchers from the MIT Media Lab have developed a device shaped like a giant ring that can read to people who are visually impaired. They call this 3-D printed prototype, FingerReader.  

After slipping the device on, the user just runs an index finger below the printed text in a magazine, on a business card, or on a menu, for example. A small camera scans the words and the device reads them out loud in real time. Audio cues and a small vibrating motor alerts the user if he or she needs to move to the next line or has veered from the line of text.