This sounds neat.Sent: Monday, March 21, 2005 9:26 PM
Subject: [alabama] New Talking Book Being developed
PR Newswire
Monday, March 21, 2005
Battelle Leading Effort to Design Next-Generation Talking Book Player
COLUMBUS, Ohio, March 21 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Library Service
for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS), Library of Congress, has
chosen a consortium led by Battelle to design and develop its
next-generation digital talking book players.
Battelle is working with HumanWare, the National Federation of the
Blind, and the Trace Center to develop a new player to meet the needs of the
blind and physically handicapped and others with print disabilities. The new
flash- based player will be lightweight, portable, and durable, and is
expected to be freely distributed to over 700,000 individuals in the U.S.
"We are excited to have brought this exceptional group of companies on
board. We have great confidence in their capabilities and we know that the
product they design will be a success for our patrons," says Frank Kurt
Cylke, NLS director.
Digital talking books revolutionize the reading experience by providing
advanced features such as ease of navigation, better audio quality, and the
ability to enter bookmarks. Additionally, a complete book will fit on a
single flash memory card.
"Battelle has a 75-year history of leveraging technology for the benefit
of our customers and investing in the human community through service to
others. This opportunity sits squarely in this space and we are very
excited about it," says Battelle's Dave Easter, Vice President of Product
Development Solutions. "Battelle's Product Development Solutions staff has
extensive experience designing products for the medical and consumer
products industry.
We bring strong skills in project management, product integration,
engineering, industrial design, and the translation of user needs into
critical design specifications."
The consortium brings together a powerful, diverse group of experts.
HumanWare, the new business created from the recent merger of VisuAide and
Pulse Data International, has designed and commercialized digital talking
book players since 1999 under the Victor Reader product line. The Trace
Center at the University of Wisconsin has been a pioneer in technology for
the disabled for more than 30 years. And the involvement of the National
Federation of the Blind ensures that those individuals most affected by the
new players have a voice in their design and development.
"This project will enable the blind to actively participate in the
development of the next generation audio book player," says Dr. Marc Maurer,
President of the National Federation of the Blind. "Our community has an
opportunity to contribute directly to this important project."
"We are excited to participate in the first redesign of the NLS
audiobook player in the last 30 years and to contribute HumanWare's and our
partner's experience toward the launch of a revolutionary player to serve
the visually impaired and print-disabled community," says Dr. Gilles Pepin,
President of HumanWare Canada.
About Battelle
Battelle is a global leader in science and technology. Headquartered in
Columbus, Ohio, it develops and commercializes technology and manages
laboratories for customers. Battelle, with the national labs it manages or
co-manages, oversees 19,000 staff members and conducts $3 billion in annual
research and development. Battelle innovations include the development of
the office copier machine (Xerox), pioneering work on compact disc
technology, medical technology advancements, and fiber optic technologies.
About HumanWare
HumanWare combines two of the industry's most innovative companies -
VisuAide and Pulse Data International are recognized as world leaders in
their respective fields. Products like the SmartView video magnifier and
more recently myReader - the world's first low vision auto-reader - are
redefining the way people look at low vision while the Victor Reader family
of digital talking book players has been at the forefront of the industry
since its inception. The BrailleNote is the best-known solution in the
notetaker market today, and this market will be expanded with the
introduction of Maestro.
Finally, the companies produce the world's only commercialized GPS based
orientation solutions for the blind - Trekker and BrailleNote GPS.
About NLS
NLS is in the midst of a full-scale transition from analog audio
cassettes to DTBs, a project that will involve creating 20,000 DTBs (10,000
converted from cassette and 10,000 recorded digitally) and developing a
digital playback device to replace the four-track tape player that has been
in service for nearly three decades. NLS has approximately 730,000 audio
cassette players in use worldwide today and maintains an inventory of more
than 23 million cassettes containing audio books and magazines that it
circulates free of charge to blind and physically handicapped readers.
