Acton Firm Develops Vision Technology
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The Eye-Pal Ace is one of ABISee's newest products. It scans text and converts it to audio speech or large letter to help the blind and visually impaired to read.
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The Eye-Pal Solo was ABiSee's first product.
Several years before Leon Reznik became co-founder and CEO of Acton-based ABiSee Inc., the engineer worked for large companies like IBM, Hewlett-Packard and EMC, as well as smaller startups.
ABiSee started in 2005 with Reznick trying to help a visually impaired friend. He began tinkering with a webcam in the basement of his Sudbury home.
"It was very, very simple," Reznik said. "We did some tweaking with the software … this gave me the idea for my business."
Read It, Say It
The result of Reznik's basement tinkering was a device that could quickly recognize and convert text from books, magazines and pill bottles to multiple formats, including audio and large print.
ABiSee's first product was a reading and magnifying device called the Eye Pal Solo, a 6-pound black box with a camera hovering over it on a metal arm. The user places whatever he or she is trying to read on the box, and the device reads the text aloud.
But that product was just the start for the company, which has grown to 16 employees and millions in revenue. ABiSee now has eight core products, including two it released just last month which have a more modern look to them.
Product Evolution
Since launching its first product, ABiSee has tweaked and refined its offerings.
Its latest two are more reminiscent of a tablet computer. The Eye-Pal Ace — for the visually impaired — and the Eye-Pal ROL, for users who are blind, have a large screen and text scrolling wheels.
What makes the devices unique in the marketplace is their portability, said Reznik.
There are no cords connected with the hand-held products, thanks to a rechargeable battery. Cameras are built into the device, he said. They don't require keyboards. And they weigh in at only 3-and-a-half pounds.
"They are ergonomic, easy and comfortable," to use when compared to previous readers, said Reznik, which needed to be stood up on a desktop with headsets used to hear the device. "Now (users) can lay back and relax."
The devices are placed directly over the reading materials, said Reznik. The Eye Pal Ace, for example, requires the document is lined up horizontally against the device, the user presses a scan button and the Eye Pal Ace takes a photo of it in seconds. Using the software, the device then analyzes the document for optical character recognition, or OCR, he said, and the device can enlarge text or read aloud.
"Some prefer to view or listen," said Reznik. "But more prefer to alternate. They may have a type of eye condition that tolerates different things depending on the time," he said, such as people who can read the enlarged type in the mornings, but by evenings their eyes are tired and they prefer the verbal reading the devices can deliver.
Both devices also give verbal alerts of appointments or other scheduling reminders.
The Road Show
For now, the devices are on tour, said Reznik. He's recently been in Orlando, Fla., at the Assistive Technology Industry Association conference demonstrating and taking orders for the new products, which cost $2,445 and $2,145, respectively. They will be ready for shipment in March.
Reznik said his company has distributors in almost every U.S. state. Dealers are trained to demonstrate and repair the devices. Locally, Worcester-based New England Low Vision carries ABiSee products. The company also has relationships with Veterans Administration hospitals, The Carroll Center for the Blind in Newton and the Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown, he said.
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