National Federation of the Blind
National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute
The Courtesy Rules of Blindness
Kenneth Jernigan Master-Teacher
Kurzweil National Federation of the Blind Reader
Laws and Legislation in Tennessee
Library Services for the Blind in Tennessee
NFB National and State Conventions
NFB of Tennessee Discussion Group
The Kurzweil NFB Reader
|
At the grand opening of the National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute, an exhibit displaying the history of reading machines for the blind since the 1970s allowed attendees a glimpse at the future. The Jernigan Institute in partnership with Raymond Kurzweil, Kurzweil Technologies Inc., highlighted their joint venture to roll out the first portable “hand-held” reader.
We invite you to explore this area of our Web Site to learn the history and development of this new and innovative product. Then come to the 2006 National Federation of the Blind Convention to learn even more about this unique new technology at the Khmer Pavilion, Atrium 1, Third Level and at special informational workshops planned for Saturday, Sunday, and Wednesday afternoons. Special Reader inaugural convention prices are available.
Capture the moment. Join in the fun. The revolution in reading technology for the blind is here—and it all begins at our convention!
Begin your exploration of the history and development of this unique technology by selecting any of the links below to read articles about its conception, development as well as information about Dr. Raymond Kurzweil, a pionear in the field of voice technology and his long-time affiliation with the National Federation of the Blind. Then take the opportunity to listen to speeches given by Dr. Kurzweil during the Grand Opening of the National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute, and during the 2006 Jernigan Institute Celebration. Finally listen to a demonstration of this21st Century Technology given by James Gashel, Director of Special Projects for the National Federation of the Blind. We will add additional content to this site area as it is made available.
Audio and Video Streaming and Downloads
Audio and video presentations, including a demonstration of the Kurzweil NFB Reader can be viewed, heard, or downloaded from this page in .MP3 or .wmv format for off-line listening and viewing. To listen or watch on-line you must have one of the following audio players installed on your PC:
Real Player from Real Networks
Windows Media Player from the Windows Media Player Web site.
From Team Nulsoft, (Audio only.)
Text Viewing and Downloads
All articles can be read on-line,or you can download them for off-line reading. They are available as Adobe Portable Document Files, (.PDF), ASCII, Rich Text, and Microsoft Word text documents you can download from this Web Site. you can download all articles and speeches in zipped format by selecting the appropriate download links below. You will need to unpack these collections using an unzipping program such as:
WinzipTo view .PDF Files you will need the: Adobe Reader to view these f iles.
KNFB Reader History
In his Presidential Report to the members of the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) Annual Convention in 2003, Dr. Marc Maurer summed up the NFB’s partnership with Dr. Raymond Kurzweil like this:
“In 1975 the National Federation of the Blind responded to a request by Dr. Raymond Kurzweil that we assist with the development of a reading machine. We secured several hundred thousand dollars to fund this effort. The Kurzweil Reading Machine brought into being a kind of access technology for the blind which has dramatically expanded the capacity for blind people to read the written word.”
“We embarked on a joint project with Dr. Kurzweil to build a Kurzweil-National Federation of the Blind Reader that will be small enough to carry--a handheld reading machine. The reading machine of the 1970s was four feet tall and quite heavy. We expected to be able to build the Kurzweil-National Federation of the Blind Reader in a container small enough eventually to fit in a coat pocket. The reading machine of the 1970s sold for $50,000. We believe it will be possible to distribute the Kurzweil-National Federation of the Blind Reader for under $4,000. Development work has already been underway for several months, and the first experimental machines are being constructed. The prototype should be completed within two years, and manufacturing and distribution will take some time after that. This is an ambitious and expensive project, but the potential benefits are commensurate with the risks.”
In 1975, when Dr. Raymond Kurzweil, the brilliant innovator, first met with Dr. Kenneth Jernigan, the dynamic leader of the blind and builder of innovative programs, it was just the beginning of a partnership
which would revolutionize technologies for the blind. Dr. Kurzweil’s
ideas about technologies were moved from prototypes into actual machines
usable by the blind, with the assistance of Dr. Jernigan and the National
Federation of the Blind. The initial project, conducted from 1976 to
1978, received foundation and federal government support. This project
brought the first “reading machine” for the blind into
being.
Dr. Kurzweil is an important partner with the National Federation of the Blind. Among his many accomplishments, Dr. Kurzweil was inducted into the Inventors Hall of Fame in 2002. This honor came, in part, in recognition for his original work in developing the Kurzweil Reading Machine but his achievements go far beyond helping the blind find greater independence. Dr. Kurzweil’s bio reads in part:
“Ray Kurzweil was the principal developer of the first omni-font optical character recognition, the first print-to-speech reading machine for the blind, the first CCD flat-bed scanner, the first text-to-speech synthesizer, the first music synthesizer capable of recreating the grand piano and other orchestral instruments, and the first commercially marketed large-vocabulary speech recognition. Ray has successfully founded and developed nine businesses in OCR, music synthesis, speech recognition, reading technology, virtual reality, financial investment, medical simulation, and cybernetic art.”
On October 19, 2001, at the groundbreaking for the National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute, Dr. Raymond Kurzweil confidently made a prediction that got the attention of many blind people. Dr. Kurzweil predicted technology would make it possible to develop a completely portable, hand-held reader for the blind by 2005, within just four years. Read Dr. Kurzweil’s remarks at the National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute groundbreaking.
Soon after that, the NFB and Kurzweil Technologies Inc. entered into an agreement to proceed with a development effort, which is presently underway.
At the time of the grand opening of the National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute, a prototype reader had been produced, and work was underway to refine the software. During the Grand Opening Celebration Dr. Kurzweil repeated the forecast he made during the NFB Jernigan Institute's 2006 Celebration. Listen or download his presentation by selecting the appropriate link below.
Recently the National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute began producing a video series for distribution over the World-Wide Web which will feature various individuals and authorities on blindness to discuss critical concerns of blind individuals and how the NFB is addressing them. The inaugural program in this series, Straight Talk About Vision Loss With Dr. Z. features an interview of James Gashel, Director of Strategic Initiatives for the National Federation of the Blind and Betsy Zaborowski, Director of the NFB Jernigan Institute. In this Program Jim Gashel and Betsy Zaborowski discuss the Kurzweil NFB Reader, its development and use by the blind. A demonstration of the reader is also included. View or download this presentation by selecting the appropriate link below:
Embassador Testimonials
Beginning in March of 2006 a number of federationists participated in a beta testing period of the Kurzweil NFB Reader. They attempted to read a wide variety of documents and text on other objects ranging from wall hangings to labels on cans. Dubbed,"Embassadors" they not only tested the KNFB Reader on their own material, but gave demonstrations of the product to local chapters and state conventions of the NFB as well as for other interested individuals and groups. The results of their experiences appears below:
Dwight Sayer:
I have a neat story. Last week my BrailleNote rep came over to bring my GPS unit and some software. She had gotten the disks mixed up, and no one sighted was around. She couldn't tell which one was mine. I said, “Wait a second . . .” I picked up a disk and shot a picture just pointing the Reader straight at it. . . . In a few seconds the Reader just rattled off the text on the CD, and I found I had my software right in my hands. The rep, who was drooling by that time, spent the next hour or so testing the Reader on everything from her checkbook to a receipt she had in her purse. By the way the ATM receipts that pop out of our great ATM machine at the National Center were read with ease as I was wondering what my balance was. . . . This little machine is a keeper!
Ron Gardner:
The first thing I did with the Reader was go around my home snapping photos of the wall hangings. My grandchildren have given us some very precious quotes which are contained in framed hanging art. The quotes are covered with glass, and I wondered if the glass would reflect too much light. I am happy to report that the Reader worked with or without the flash, and the glass did not prevent a great job. It was terrific to be able to read these things from my grandchildren!
Ramona Walhof:
I demonstrated the Reader at my Lions Club this morning. I started with the Idaho Potato Cookbook, which it does very well. It also read the restaurant menu quite well, although it was green print on white inside plastic. The Lions were more than astonished by its performance.
Amber Chesser:
After over a month of anticipation and after a week of reading about everyone's experiences, I finally began using my Reader on Friday afternoon. What a wonderful beginning it was, and what a wonderful weekend of reading I have had! The Reader exceeded my expectations from the moment I took it out of the box. It looked completely different from anything I had imagined. . . . The unit is not bulky or too large; I definitely plan to carry it to all of my university classes as well as to concerts, meetings, and anywhere else I go every day.
I was also quite surprised at the accuracy which with I took the pictures from the start. . . . I could write a lengthy post brimming with enthusiastic descriptions of everything that I read over the weekend. . . . I recognize that there are definitely developments to be made, but at this time the marvelous designers and developers have hit the nail on the head. Thanks, National Federation of the Blind, for the honor of being a tester and for such an exciting creation!
Karl Smith:
I just had to write one more time about my experiences at CSUN with the Reader. This morning I attended a session discussing the future of accessibility for portable computer platforms. This was more or less a discussion session with not a whole lot of substance. During the presentation the presenter mentioned that the NFB was about to announce the new Reader. Being much like a proud grandpa with new pictures of his grandkids, I pulled my machine out and waved it over my head. The presenter acknowledged that someone in the room actually had one. The fun started after the end of the presentation. I was suddenly surrounded by a large group of people wanting to see the Reader and know how it worked. Someone gave me a legal-sized piece of print to read. . . A short time later my trusty Reader began reading information on augmentative communication. Everyone listened very quietly because of the low volume of the PDA speakers, while the reading kept going and going with pretty much flawless results.
It was then that the man who gave me the paper admitted that he had purposely given me what he considered to be a particularly awful piece of material to scan. It was a printout of a half dozen or so PowerPoint slides from another presentation. For me it was another one of those dream demos. It went perfectly, and everyone was very excited. . . . Several of the people said that this was the best part of the session. Folks, this thing is . . . the beginning of a revolution. Rarely does a piece of technology by itself really represent the beginning of an entirely new era for the blind. This one does just that . . . man, this thing is fun.
Vickie Saucier:
I have now had my Reader for three days, and I agree with Gary. You're not getting it back except for repairs, if needed. I've experienced all the problems and limitations that everyone else has mentioned. When Jim first demonstrated it, I was in tears, and I still feel that way. At the first brief demonstration by my representative, I was terrified and thought that I'd never be able to use it. Changing that battery seemed difficult: remembering the commands, focusing, flash cards, etc. really caused me some alarm, since I am not a teckie like some of you. However, I mastered all those things except for the flash card (I just have to read the instruction manual, and I'll know how to do that too). I even demonstrated how to do all those things to another pioneer who didn't attend the demonstration. I am looking forward to all the future improvements, but for now I'm happy reading those Jell-O boxes and cleaning a bookshelf in my office without sighted assistance. It goes everywhere with me, and next week it's going to see Mickey with me and my grandson at one of my favorite places on the planet, Disney World.
Juliett Cody:
Yes, the Reader is good on bulletin boards. I did it on campus today, and I was pleased. I was looking for scholarship applications, so the postings were as large as a regular page. I must admit it was wonderful to walk into the scholarship office and not have to wait until someone could help me. I love the Reader, and, like I said before, I am not returning it.
Ron Brown:
On April 22 the Indiana State Library held a technology fair. The NFB of Indiana was invited to show off NEWSLINE, so I decided to take the Reader to the technology fair without any forewarning to the host. I charged up my Reader, got together some prearranged documents to read, and went to the fair. When I got to our booth, I set up shop and waited for the participants to come by. It took only a few minutes for word to spread that the Reader was there.
Needless to say, the Reader was a big hit. Ours became the most popular booth at the fair. Not only did the participants stop by, so did the other presenters. The Reader and I worked from 10:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. nonstop. It worked this long without my having to charge the battery. I had to change the camera battery only once. Some of the people that gathered around started handing me other documents to read. I took those documents and shot pictures of them, and the Reader performed like a champ. I started grabbing Kernel books off the table and any other document in sight to read. Yes, I threw caution to the wind and went for it. When I opened a Kernel Book and held it away from me up in the air; one guy from the crowd stated, "He's holding the book upside down," and I shot the picture anyway. The Reader read the page about Mount Everest being the tallest mountain in the world. I guess the Kernel Book story I grabbed was "The Summit." The crowd went wild. I was told three people asked how they could join the NFB.
All in all it was a beautiful day, and the Reader was a big hit. I have the sore feet and the loss of my voice from talking so much to prove it.
James Solem:
Recently I passed my prelim exams for my Ph.D. Needless to say, the work has just begun. Yet the Kurzweil–National Federation of the Blind Reader is making it possible. With the use of the Reader I was able to complete the proposal, research prospectus, human subject review summary form, and the informed consent form. Before having access to the Reader, I was unable to read italics. The Reader does an outstanding job of enabling the blind to complete legal documents.
I am currently scanning research information that I have pulled from numerous libraries. I can read it remotely at the university library, study hall, gym, or home. This has freed me from having to need a reader to complete my dissertation. I finally feel like I have a tool that has made me independent and equal with my sighted peers.
These comments indicate an overall positive response among early users of the Kurzweil–National Federation of the Blind Reader, and we are only at the dawn of this exciting new technology. Imagine what the future has in store for us with this technology we have created to meet our needs. Now that the Reader we have dreamed about is real, we have the opportunity and the ability to build upon this new beginning and make our Reader an even more powerful tool in the months and years ahead.
The newly-released Kurzweil-National Federation of the Blind Reader Video provides further information about the reader and features user testamonials. View or download the video by selecting the appropriate link below:
View the Kurzweil-National Federation of the Blind Reader Video, (Streaming Video)
Download the Kurzweil-National Federation of the Blind Reader Video, (WMV Download), 9 MB
The Kurzweil National Federation of the Blind Reader Demonstration
The 2006 NFB Jernigan Institute Celebration was topped offf with the most exciting event of the evening—Jim Gashel the federation's Director of Special Projects gave a live demonstration of the new Kurzweil-NFB Handheld Reader. This demonstration can be heard or downloaded by selecting the appropriate link below. Recently a brief five-minute video demonstration of the Kurzweil National Federation of the Blind Reader was made available from our national office. Jim Gashel, Executive Director of Strategic Initiatives, demonstrates how to use the Kurzweil-National Federation of the Blind Reader. Both demonstrations can be heard, viewed, or downloaded by selecting the appropriate link below:
Listen to the Kurzweil NFBReader, (Streaming Audio)
Download Kurzweil NFB Reader Demo, (MP3 Download) 7.0MB
View Demonstration of the Kurzweil-National Federation of the Blind Reader (/Streaming Video)
Download Demonstration of the Kurzweil-National Federation of the Blind Reader (WMV Download), 5 MB
Even with its present capacity, however, the Kurzweil–National Federation of the Blind Reader reads most printed documents, from letters and memos to pages in a book; reads address labels and instructions; reads an entire page or just a few lines of text for identification; and provides easy access to restaurant menus. The Reader even reads play or concert programs, instructions for appliances, and numbers on lottery tickets--the possibilities are endless.
There are hundreds of uses for the Reader every day. No other device in the history of technology for the blind has provided quicker access to more printed information than the Kurzweil–National Federation of the Blind Reader. The world of the printed word is about to be opened to the blind in a way it has never been before. Get ready; the revolution begins today!
Members attending the 2006 convention of the National Federation of the Blind will participate in the historic launch of the Kurzweil–National Federation of the Blind Reader. This is the most exciting new technology to become available for blind people in the past thirty years. Using the combined power of a small computer and a digital camera to create this handheld reader, the world of the printed word is now being opened to the blind in a way it has never been before.
Further Information and Demonstrations
We have included additional links for obtaining more information about the Kurzweil National Federation of the Blind Reader along with links to purchase this revolutionary reading solution for the blind:
Kurzweil Education Systems Web Site
Purchase the Kurzweil NFB Reader
Document Downloads
The following links allow you to download instructions for using the KNFB Reader, and other Related Information:
KNFB Reader Brochure
KNFB Reader Brochure, Portable Document Format, (PDF)
KNFB Reader Brochure, ASCII Text Format, (TXT)
KNFB Reader Brochure, Rich Text Format (RTF)
KNFB Reader Brochure, Microsoft Word Format (DOC)
Reader Fact Sheet
Reader Fact Sheet, Portable Document Format, (PDF)
Reader Fact Sheet, ASCII TextFormat, (TXT)
Reader Fact Sheet, Rich Text Format, (RTF)
Reader Fact Sheet, Microsoft Word Format, (DOC)
Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions, Portable Document Format, (PDF)
Frequently Asked Questions, ASCII Text Format, (TXT)
Frequently Asked Questions, Rich Text Format, (RTF)
Frequently Asked Questions, Microsoft Word Format, (DOC)
Command Summary
Command Summary, Portable Document Format, (PDF)
Command Summary, ASCII Text Format, (TXT)
Command Summary, Rich Text Format, (RTF)
Command Summary, Microsoft Word Format, (DOC)
Quick Start Brochure
Quick Start Brochure, Portable Document Format, (PDF)
Quick Start Brochure, ASCII Text Format, (TXT)
Quick Start Brochure, Rich Text Format, (RTF)
Quick Start Brochure, Microsoft Word Format, (DOC)
User Guide
User Guide, Portable Document Format, (PDF)
User Guide, ASCII Text Format, (TXT)
User Guide, Rich Text Format, (RTF)
User Guide, Microsoft Word Format, (DOC)
Document Archives
All Documents in Zipped Archive, Portable Document Format, (ZIP)
All Documents in zipped Archive, ASCII Text Format, (ZIP)
All Documents in one Archive, Rich Text Format, (ZIP)
All Documents in zipped Archive, Microsoft Word Format, (ZIP)
For more information visit the: Kurzweil National Federation of the Blind Reader Web Site, or contact the National Federation of the Blind Reader information and sales line at (877) 708-1724. A limited number of Readers are available at a special inaugural discount of $200 below the expected retail price of $3,495.
In Tennessee contact Michael Seay for further information and to arrange for a demonstration of this innovative product. He is the Kurzweil National Federation of the Blind Reader Embassador for Tennessee. He can be reached at:
President and Kurzweil NFB Reader Embassador, National Federation of the Blind of Tennessee
1226 Goodman Circle
West Memphis, Tennessee 38111
Home Phone: (901) 452-6596
Work: (901) 388-1288
E-mail: Contact the National Federation of the Blind of Tennessee
National Federation of the Blind
National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute
The Courtesy Rules of Blindness
Kenneth Jernigan Master-Teacher
Kurzweil National Federation of the Blind Reader
Laws and Legislation in Tennessee
Library Services for the Blind in Tennessee
NFB National and State Conventions
NFB of Tennessee Discussion Group
Questions From Kids About Blindness
Page Last modified: