Asia-Pacific News

Portable device makes reading easier for visually impaired

Dec 28, 2007, 1:15 GMT

Singapore - A device that can enlarge text by up to 48 times has been developed in Singapore for visually impaired people, researchers said Friday. The portable reading aid fitted with a full-colour 17-inch screen is the result of a tie-up between Nanyang Polytechnic and InSiPhil, a visual-aid manufacturer. Staff from both facilities worked for nine months on the desktop product, which runs on batteries can be plugged into a wall outlet. The Vertex electronic magnifier is easy to use, said Ng Soon Seng, InSiPhil's managing director. Reading material is placed on a tray. The magnifier projects the text and graphics onto a screen, enlarged up to 48 times. The device will be cheaper than imported devices once it is sold in the city-state. Units have been sold overseas. The Vertex was exhibited in the United States in March. 'The ability to read is something that no one should be denied,' The Straits Times quoted Edmund Wan, executive director of the Singapore Association of the Visually Handicapped, as saying. © 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur

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Portable device makes reading easier for visually impaired

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