In January we examined how images taken by the Hubble Space telescope are being adapted for people who have visual impairments, but we were excited to find another example of innovation with this same sort of goal in mind. This time mit's Media Lab is developing a tiny computer that can detect text and read it aloud for those with visual impairments. While our first post was about astronomy and this is regarding general text, in all cases the developments are tools through which information is transformed into other senses so that people can better utilize it. And we maintain our stance that everyone, whether visually impaired or not visually impaired, could enjoy information in a different way by using these tools.
Image: “A young Astronomer,” c.1685 by Olivier van Deuren via Wikimedia Commons