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Zoom-Ex is an innovative tool which makes it possible to turn any computer into an accessible scanner, reader, and magnifier for blind or visually impaired users.
The durable but lightweight design of the Zoomex Portable Scanner consists of a 2 1/2 inch digital camera on a specially designed stand, which also serves as a guide for lining up the book or document to be scanned. Because of the unique camera and stand design, the camera is always at the exact distance needed to create a clear image, and a blind user will always know exactly where to place the material to be scanned.
Additional Detail for Zoom-Ex
Zoom-Ex, Three tools in a single 1 lb. USB device
- Instant book-to-speech tool
- Fast, 20 page per minute scanner + OCR
- Magnifier with no need for an X-Y table (lines wrap)
Zoom-Ex folds up like a tripod and fits in your laptop bag.
Zoom-Ex as The World's First Instant Book-to-Speech Tool
Two leaps in speed:
- Instant scanning by photographing.
- Fastest OCR (image-to-text) to date.
Zoom-Ex Book-to-Speech Features:
- Synthetic voice of your choice.
- While text-to-speech reads text, the screen may differ from the text being read, e.g. you can view the picture whose printed caption is being read.Alternatively, the pronounced text can be the same as that shown; and (Yes!!!) the pronounced word is being highlighted. FF and REW are available. You can save books as text and/or image on your PC hard drive, a CD, a DVD, or key chain memory. Once the texts are saved, you can take them anywhere. Then at any time, without Zoom-Ex, you can view them or listen to them. You can print them, making you own "large print books". The camera field of view is easily felt by contact with a right angle edge.
- Voice indicators and instructions assist the blind and visually impaired.
Zoom-Ex as a Scanner
Scanning 20 pages per minute while books stay bound
- Instant capture with a still camera (Zoom-Ex).
- Our patented motion detector allows scanning 20 pages per minute without pushing a button, virtualy hands free. All you do is turn pages. Once a flat page, held at 4 corners, is sensed as still, its image gets saved. You turn the next page and hold it flat with both hands. And so on. You can scan odd pages separately from even ones (isn’t your life getting easier?), even upside down – the software will order the pages properly. You can even capture both pages at a time.
- The camera field of view is easily felt by contact with edges at a right angle.
- You can save books as text and/or images on your PC hard drive, a CD, a DVD, or key chain memory.
- Once the texts are saved, you can take them anywhere. Then, at any time you can view them, or listen to them without Zoom-Ex.
- You can print them, making your own "large print books".
- Voice indicators and instructions assist the blind and visually impaired.
Zoom-Ex as a Magnifier
As a magnifier, it first scans a whole page near-instantly, by photographing it. Then it magnifies the captured text and wraps the lines on-screen for easy reading. Just scroll-down, no need for an X-Y table. Lines no longer run off the screen.
This is not OCR! Any character set will wrap, even curved lines, unavailable for OCR. It works by recognizing spaces between characters treated as images.
Zoom-Ex: Magnifier with no need for an X-Y table (lines wrap)
- See your text in any color combination, e.g. reverse color, etc.
- Print your own "large print books", in any language, without lines running off the page. Zoom-Ex recognizes multiple columns as such. They are processed correctly. Zoom-Ex separates pictures from text and presents them separately, with separate adjustable magnification.
- With the whole page in the memory, you can magnify and view the page "as is", without any image processing. Unlike a CCTV, which needs an X-Y table, you move around the page using keyboard arrows or your mouse. In this mode Zoom-Ex is more like a conventional magnifier, but with "no moving parts".
Zoom-Ex System Requirements
- An IBM compatible personal computer
- 1.3 GHz Pentium or equivalent AMD processor
- 256 MB RAM Memory or more
- 30 MB free space on Hard Drive
- Microsoft Windows XP (strongly recommended) or Vista.
Zoom-Office
Zoom-Office is software that is seamlessly integrated with the Zoom-Ex and allows you to use the Zoom-Ex with your computer. When you buy the Zoom-Ex you get the Zoom-Office software at no extra charge. Zoom-Office is an accessible software application that has built in text-to-speech synthesizers for spoken access to the menus and dialogues.
When you buy Zoom-Ex you get the entire Zoom-Office. Our policy is that when an individual buys the device he or she may install Zoom-Office on any number of personal computers at home and at work. When an institution like a school or library buys our device, they need to buy a license for each computer on which they install the software.
Zoom-Ex Frequently Asked Questions
Q. How can I read a magnified document without an X-Y table and without moving the page under the camera?
A. Zoom-Ex sees more than it shows on the screen. To navigate press arrow key.
Q. Magnified line is longer then the width of the screen. Does it mean that I will need to keep scrolling left and right in order to read the text?
A. No. If the line is longer than the width of the screen, Zoom-Ex will shift the line-breaks to make the lines shorter and put one on top of the other. So, the reformatted magnified lines won't run off the screen, and all you need to do is scroll down.
Q. It seems as if Zoom-Ex reformats the text and breaks the lines to the screen width. Now I want to increase the magnification to make the letters bigger. As a result, will the lines get longer and run off the screen now?
A. No. You letters will grow, but Zoom-Ex will again shift the line-breaks to fit the screen.
Q. Can I view magnified pictures with Zoom-Ex?
A. Yes. You can view pages with either text or pictures, or both.
Q. Can I read the labels on a medicine bottles?
A. Yes. You can view any magnified material as a picture.
Q. Is Zoom-Ex portable?
A. Yes. Zoom-Ex weighs only one pound (0.5 kg). It folds into a 17 inch tube and can be carried in any bag.
Q. How long is the warranty for the Zoom-Ex?
A. The Zoom-Ex comes with a two year manufacturer's warranty.
Zoom-Ex Related Products
Note: Ohio territory restrictions apply to the sale & support of the ABISee product line.
