John Froehlich of the Makeability lab at the University of Maryland has developed a fingertip camera that is only 1mm in width. This camera is linked with a computer, and reads text when the camera is moved across a page. The device gives audio cues and haptic feedback to help the user position the device. The device is nicknamed HandSight, and it was originally developed for endoscopies. Although there are already many ways to scan and read text, it can be difficult for visually impair people to understand the layout of text. This device can help with multi-column formats. To find out more about HandSight, read this article from New Scientist.
