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Spinoff story
New Help for the Sightless (Optacon)
A real-world story of NASA technology finding a life beyond the mission.
About this technology
Overview
Telesensory manufactured a device which allows blind people to read anything. Derived from NASA technology, the Optacon works by passing a mini-camera over a printed page with right hand, the left hand senses a vibrating image of the letters the camera is viewing. Optacon allows the blind to read almost anything in print, not only braille transcriptions. Telesensory discontinued production of the Optacon as of December 1996.