KNFB Reader: Access to Print Text on the Go for Blind and Visually Impaired

Posted August 29, 2014
Fast, Accurate, Efficient

The wait is finally over. The highly anticipated KNFB Reader iOS app that provides access to print text on the go, was presented at the 74th Annual Convention of the National Federation of the Blind to enthusiastic cheers and applause.

KNFB Reader

Introducing the KNFB Reader iOS

By harnessing the power of digital photography coupled with state of the art Apple hardware, this new app, tailored to the specific needs of people who are blind or visually impaired, makes access to print materials much faster and more efficient than ever. This fabulous, life-changing technology was presented by James Gashel, Vice President of Business Development at KNFB Reading Technology Inc. and Secretary of the National Federation of the Blind, during the General Session of the Convention, before a presentation of Ray Kurzweil, Director of Engineering at Google Inc. The KNFB Reader for iOS is a joint development effort of Sensotec nv and KNFB Reading Technology Inc.

Fast

With the touch of a single button, read virtually any type of printed text, including mail, receipts, class handouts, memos and many other documents.

Accurate

Accuracy is facilitated by a field of view report, automatic page detection, and tilt control.

Efficient

Proprietary document analysis technology determines the words and reads them aloud to the user with high quality text-to-speech.

Features

The features below make the KNFB Reader an excellent choice for capturing and reading documents on the go wherever you are.

  • Reading Modes – Reading modes for books, articles and labels; bills, memos, and business cards.
  • Synchronized Highlighting – Synchronized text highlighting with Braille and high quality speech output.
  • Text Navigation – Text navigation by line, sentence, word and character.
  • Viewfinder & Tilt Assist – Viewfinder for live field of view. Tilt guidance and report to assist with aligning the camera relative to the document.
  • Automated – Automatic text detection to enable hands-free operation or touch-free operation.
  • Import and Export Documents – Ability to import, OCR and read image based PDF and JPG. Export HTML and TXT files to cloud storage including Dropbox and Google Drive.
  • Read Multi-Page Documents – Capture and read documents, brochures, pamphlets, and books.
  • Multi-Language Support – The KNFB Reader can recognize and read printed materials in a variety of languages including: English, French, German, Chinese, Japanese, Dutch(Belgium), Dutch(Netherlands), Italian, Spanish, Korean, Portuguese, Danish, Finnish and Norwegian.

KNFB Reader for iOS Release Plan

Responding to worldwide inquiries, K-NFB Reading Technology and Sensotec have announced today that the release of the KNFB Reader iPhone app is being scheduled to coordinate with Apple’s upgrade to its new iOS 8 operating system, expected to occur on or about September 10, 2014

Testimonials

Feedback from initial users of the KNFB Reader.

“The playing field has been equalized with the assistance of the KNFB reader. I feel that the scanner will make me more employable, besides assisting me to do my work independently.”

Hope Hein

“I was planning to have someone read me the serial number from the battery in my laptop; however, the person could not seem to read the number the same way twice. It wasn’t easy — tiny little print on the end of a long skinny box, but I got it with the K-NFBR. The beauty of this is that the K-NFB Reader, obviously not designed for anything remotely similar to this task, outperformed a sighted reader.”

Anonymous

“I really didn’t know what to expect, when I got it. But, from the first picture I ever took, I was extremely impressed. […] the Reader is so handy and portable, it’s really extremely useful.”

Cynthia Handel

“I just finished sorting today’s mail. What a great feeling I have to be able to accomplish this seemingly trivial task. I didn’t have to interrupt my son or daughter, I didn’t have to wait for a pair of eyes, and my wife does not have to spend time sorting. […] As my students would say, ‘The K-NFB Reader rocks!”

Mark Feliz

Supported Devices

The following supported iDevices must be running iOS 7 or higher to be compatible.

  • iPhone 5s
  • iPhone 5c
  • IPhone 5
  • Black iPhone 5 Gold iPhone 5s

To purchase the App visit: knfbReader – Sensotec nv (opens in new tab/window)