Solutions:
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Apps for Individuals with Vision Impairment
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Color-coded Manuals, Outlines, and Maps
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Low Vision Enhancement Products
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Optical Character Recognition (OCR) Systems - Scan
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Recorded Directives, Messages, Materials
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Screen Magnification and Screen Reading Combined
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Screen Magnification Software
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Screen Reading Software and Training
Apps for Individuals with Vision Impairment
Vendors and Products
- KNFB Reader
- Magnifier & Microscope [Cozy]
- Magnifying Glass (Android app)
- Magnifying Glass + Flashlight Android
- Magnifying Glass for Android
- Microsoft Office Lens-PDF Scanner
- NowYouSee Android
- Path Guide
- Reading Glasses - Magnifier - Visual Aid Zoom
- Sunu App
- waveOut
- weZoom - Magnifier and Low Vision Aid
Color-coded Manuals, Outlines, and Maps
Individuals with reading deficits may have difficulty reading manuals, outlines, or maps due to the complicated structure of the material and the size/type of font used in lettering. Color-coding this material can be helpful to people with learning disabilities. This accommodation improves efficiency, provides easy access to information, increases productivity, and makes information finding a simpler task. Ways to color-code include: highlighting, using a copy machine to copy information on to colored paper, using post-it notes and colored tabs.
Low Vision Enhancement Products
Vision Enhancement products are portable low vision aids that can be worn with glasses or head-mounted for persons with low vision.These devices may be used for a variety of distance and midrange visual activities such as seeing faces, TV, the blackboard in school, computer screens, packages on shelves, dialing the telephone, and signs while traveling etc. These products will not restore vision to normal.
Vendors and Products
- 8x X-Vision Binocular
- Arena D 8 x 32 B
- Around the Neck Stand Magnifiers
- Aspheric Hand-held Magnifier
- Bar Stand Magnifiers
- easyPOCKET
- Frame for Keplerian Monocular Telescopes
- Hand-held Magnifier / Stand Magnifier Combination
- Hand-held Magnifier with stand
- Makrolux 2.2x
- Makrolux 3.6x (with video demonstration)
- MakroPLUS 1.8x
- MaxDetail - Galiliean Telescope
- MaxDetail Clip
- MaxTV
- MaxTV Clip
- MenasZoom
- Monocular w/stand
- SmartLux Digital Portable Video Magnifier
- Trophy S Zoom Observation Instrument
- Variety of telescopic devices
- VarioMAXI Magnifying Lamp
Optical Character Recognition (OCR) Systems - Scan
Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology allows people with a vision impairment to scan printed text and receive a synthetic speech output or save it to a computer. Currently, OCR technology cannot convert handwriting to voice output.Optical Character Recognition (OCR) has three factors: scanning, recognition, and reading text. First a camera scans the printed document. Next, OCR software converts the image into recognizable characters/words. Then the user can store the information in electronic form to a computer or the OCR system itself.
Vendors and Products
Recorded Directives, Messages, Materials
Individuals with reading or memory deficits may have difficulty reading or remembering memos, directions, meeting notes, and other print information. Tape recording the information allows the person with the disability to listen to the information instead of reading the information. Tape recorders can be purchased at local electronics stores.
Screen Magnification and Screen Reading Combined
The following products include screen magnification and screen reading in one software product.
Vendors and Products
Screen Magnification Software
Screen Magnification Software can be installed on a PC to magnify both the text and graphics on the computer screen. Features may include: Magnification from two up to 32 times normal size; reverse color contrast; cursor enhancement; auto tracking; option for screen reading capabilities; and automatic scanning of text documents.
Vendors and Products
Screen Reading Software and Training
Screen Reading Software can be installed on a computer to allow text to be converted into computer synthesized speech. With this software, the computer basically reads aloud the text that appears on the screen. The hardware that provides the actual "voice output" is a speech synthesizer. This can be an internal sound card or an external speech synthesizer device. The screen reading software “tells” the speech synthesizer what to say.