AM249 – Orbit Reader 20

Hey there! Welcome to Accessibility Minute, your weekly look at Assistive Technology, those clever tools and devices designed to help people who have difficulties with vision, mobility, hearing or other special needs!

Did you know braille books are nearly a square foot in size, and the average novel spans several volumes?  To make books more accessible and portable, Perkins Library introduced the Orbit Reader 20 earlier this month.  The Orbit Reader 20 is a brand new, refreshable braille display that will make books readily available like a Kindle.

As a standalone device, users are able to read braille content stored on an SD card that plugs directly into the device.  The Reader also connects to a computer that uses a screen reader so they can use apps like Kindle, iBooks, and more.

Features include:

– Eight braille input keys

– Five-way arrow and select control keys

– Two panning control bars

– Simple note-taking capability

– Rechargeable batteries

– And more

The device will be available for purchase in the near future through American Printing House for the Blind.  Visit aph.org to learn more.

For more information, to read our blog, or to drop us a line, visit EasterSealsTech.com.  That was your Accessibility Minute for this week! I¹m Laura Medcalf with the INDATA Project at Easterseals Crossroads, in Indiana.