A device that allows blind people to attach and read audio labels on everyday objects has gone on show. The PenFriend uses minute barcodes which – when scanned by a digital pen – trigger MP3 files recorded on the unit.
The PenFriend has been developed by a UK firm together with the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB).
It costs less than £60, and can be used to label foods and medication as well as clothing, personal documentation and film and music collections.
“At the moment we are just scratching the surface: we are starting development of address books, organisers, diaries and calendars,” explained Alison Long of the RNIB.
The PenFriend is the result of collaboration between the charity and London-based company, Mantra Lingua. It uses optical identification technology (OID) to print microdots on to adhesive labels which are then read by the scanner in the tip of the PenFriend.
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