Student creates e-Reading device for his grandmother

The idea for this invention came up at TAGlab (Technologies for Aging Gracefully Laboratory), from University of Toronto, a line of research that adapts information technology to help people learn more effectively or assist those who have a cognitive or communications challenge. "Our mantra is 'Technologies for the journey through life'. We look at the needs people face as they age. Then we look around in our grab bag of nifty technologies and we play with them, matching people's needs with adaptations of the technology. And then we find a bright student to explore it and build a prototype and we begin testing it", explained Ron Baecker, computer science professor.

Xavier, who is part of the TAGlab, is working on his idea with Ron, Veilian Pandeliev and Liam Kaufman.

"Xavier came up with the notion that if a machine could record his voice, his grandmother could listen to it over and over again. Hearing his familiar voice makes the experience more pleasant than hearing a computerized voice. That idea has led to our development of ALLT e-book.

According to the professor, ALLT e-book is a unique device in comparison with another existing e-book readers because it features a listening and talking capability. It works by recording the voice of a family member when she or he reads aloud for a person with vision loss; the recorded content can then be replayed later. The team is now testing this solution with individuals who have a hard time reading because of visual loss and because they have difficulties holding books or turning pages.

More info: http://taglab.utoronto.ca
https://wxs.ca

Adapted from: http://bit.ly/2HmRqWb