P2RD Division
Manufacturing and marketing of the P2RD, a Portable Print Reading Device for the Blind and theVisually Impaired.
Blind individuals who have been hurt by the disappearance of the Optacon, can recover with the P2RD Tactile Graphic Array currently under development, their ability to read printed objects by touch.
The R&D phase of this Project has been funded in part by a Grant from the National Science Foundation.
Design of the P2RD:
To make Portable Print Reading accessible to the large number of users who cannot read by touch,
Optical Character Recognition and Synthetic Speech Output are both an integral part of the
P2RD, beside tactile output.
To free the users from the hassle of setting up a scanner and from the inherent slowness
of scanner data acquisition, the P2RD uses a megapixel digital color camera, to capture in a single shot, an image of any document, book page or printed object.
Our newly developped Portable Book Reading Accessory allows rapid reading of
books without fear of damaging them, as they are when placed repeatedly in a conventionnal
flat bed scanner.
To keep the development and manufacturing cost of the P2RD low, and to protect the
P2RD from rapid obsolescence, we use whenever possible, "off the shelf" hardware
and software, which allows the P2RD to benefit almost instantly from their
future improvements.
Essential features of the P2RD:
The P2RD comprises two compact and lightweight units:
- a high resolution digital color camera (about 5 x 3 x 2.5 inches, 15 oz)
- a compact remote control unit (about 9 x 6 x 1.5 inches, 2 pounds)
The P2RD provides all the functions required to capture the image of an object, to recognize the
text it contains, and to convert this text into synthetic speech. Braille output to an external display connected to the control unit, will be available soon.
The P2RD can provide detailed data regarding the colors carried by a document or an object.
The P2RD also provides the functions needed to store a document and navigate inside stored
documents:
- move to specific page of chosen document
- move to beginning of page, paragraph, line or word
- search character sequence
- spell words
The P2RD provides audible clues to help the user frame precisely the image of a document.
The P2RD can read text carried by an object located close by or far away, as long as the image
generated by the zoom lens of its camera provides an adequate resolution for this particular text.
The P2RD camera provides all the photographic capabilities found today in a typical high end
digital color camera.
Several accessories, including a portable Copy Stand and a portable Book Reader are also
available.
When used with the Book Reader, the P2RD allows the user to read and store rapidly several
pages of any book placed on its reading surface, without damaging the books in any way, even if
they are thick and hard covered. The user can easily center the P2RD camera on the page of any
book smaller than the 9 by 12 inches reading surface.
A Tactile Graphic Array, will become available later as a part of, or to be added to the
remote control unit. It will allow blind users to read by touch both text characters and graphic
shapes, for example mathematical symbols. Its price is not known a this time.
New capabilities will be added to the P2RD by making software updates available to its users.
Pricing and Delivery of the P2RD:
The current price of the P2RD standard version is as of October 1st, 2004, $3,200.00 plus shipping and taxes.
This price includes the Fujitsu Lifebook P1120 control unit,
the Canon G5 digital camera,
the Leica type copy stand
and the English version of the P2RD software.
The following options are now available:
1. book reader accessory, 2 pages version: $1,250.
2. digital camera upgrade: replacement of the 5 million pixels Canon G5 by the 7 million pixels Canon G6: $150.
3. digital camera upgrade: replacement of the 5 million pixels, 4x zoom Canon G5 by the 8 million pixels, 7x zoom Canon Pro 1: $250.
4. control unit upgrade: replacement of the Fujitsu Lifebook notebook (9 by 6 by 1.4 inches, 2 pounds) by the OQO 01 pocket computer ( 4.9 by 3.4 by 0.9 inches, 14 ounces): $750.
5. additional language: $150.
6. Hand Print recognition: $150.
Due to rapidly changing technology, the above information is provided "as is" and can be changed
as a result of changes made by the manufacturers of the cameras, computers and third party software used in the P2RD.
Orders can be placed immediately by mailing the order with a $950.00 deposit per unit ordered, to:
C.A.Technology, Inc., 10410 S. Ocean Drive, Jensen Beach, FL 34957, USA.
Order will be shipped after receipt by C.A.Technology of the full payment, once the customer has been advised of the shipping date.
If you have questions,
comments or suggestions, email us at p2rd@catechnology.net