Voice enabled digital camera and language translator

Abstract

A digital camera that recognizes printed or written words, and converts those words into recognizable speech in either native or foreign tongue. The user points the camera at a printed/text object and the camera will speak (or optionally display) the words. Using this device, a blind or visually disabled person can point at an object, press the shutter button to “take a picture” of the words before him/her, and the camera will speak those words in his/her native language. In a second and more advanced configuration, a person can point this camera at a worded object, press the shutter button to “take a picture” of the words before him/her and the camera will speak those words in a foreign language. Alternatively, he/she may point at text in a foreign language and have those words translated and spoken in his/her native language. This camera includes resident software that: a) captures the digital image, b) uses OCR (Optical Character Recognition) software/algorithms to detect written words (text) within the image, c) converts the text from the language A to language B, and either: c1) use text-to-speech (TTS) software to synthesize speech and audibly “speak” the words to you, or c2) display the words on a display screen in Language B.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.