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Conferencing company iVisit is showing off an interesting technology that uses mobile phones to help visually challenged users.
Using the so called SeeScan, users can point their mobile phones at an object and have it identified in real-time. Think of it as Nokia Point & Find sort of technology. For instance, you can point your device to a bottle of Coke and the software will read loud that is’t the Coke you’re watching.
At the moment, software works with packaged goods, only, but it’s a solid start, nonetheless. We’ve no doubts iVisit, Nokia and other companies will keep developing similar, augmented reality apps in the future.
According to iVisit, there are approximately 11.4 million people with vision loss in the U.S., 10% of whom are legally blind. The company says they’ve tested the prototype with about 30 visually impaired users.
As for the availability, iVisit says that a beta version will be available later in the year. Initially, the application will work on Windows Mobile smartphones, but versions for Symbian and iPhone device users are also in work.
Now, you may want to see a demo of SeeScan in action. A short video follows after the jump…
[Via: Wired Blogs]
About The Author
Dusan Belic
Dusan has been using smartphones since their introduction and is now following the latest trends in the industry. The "convergence" is what he's most excited about, and writing about it is the next logical thing to do. He thinks that using a smartphone is what everyone who cares about their time should do. In addition to his interests in mobile phones, Dusan also loves to experiment with the latest web and mobile 2.0 services. The idea of accessing and managing your information from any device no matter where you are simply amazes him. Whether it's an online to-do list, note taking service or a video sharing social network, he's there to try it out. He admits though, he's still searching for the ultimate web-based organizational tool, which "sings" perfectly with the mobile PIM application. Dusan used to run SymbianWatch.com which later became part of IntoMobile. He lives in Serbia, South-East Europe, from where he edits the site on a daily basis.
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