To see a larger photograph of the TI-1 
attached to a MediSense QID Blood Glucose Meter,
follow this link.
attached to a "Roche "Advantage" Blood
Glucose Meter, follow this link.
attached to an "NEC XEN PABX, follow this link.
Under research: EFTPOS Terminal
attached to a MediSense "TrueSense" Blood
Glucose Meter, follow this link.
Price: from $ 700, no GST. Contact for a quotation for adapting your chosen equipment. Victorian residents aged under 65 may receive 100 percent funding under the RDSI scheme - contact an Occupational Therapist at your local low vision agency for details.
"DR-1" Display Reader.
Another way to get access to LCD and LED displays.
Consists of a camera which acquires an image of the display. The numbers on the image are then recognised using a microprocessor, and spoken.
The four appliances accessed to date are: a Roche "Advantage Complete" blood glucose meter, a Kelvinator Split reverse-cycle Airconditioner Remote Control, a MediSense "SofTact" blood glucose meter and a Baxter "Home Choice Pro" peritoneal dialysis machine.
As our experience with this product increases we hope to make it more "universal".
The first photo shows a SofTact meter, which has a unique design to obtain blood samples from sites other than the fingertips, inserted into the reader. Controls are simple: a volume control and a 'speak' button.
The second photo shows how the Display Reader fits over the fluorescent display on a Baxter PD machine, to acquire and speak the prompts, alarms and statistics displayed.
Price: from 1750 Australian dollars, no GST. Contact for a quotation for adapting your chosen equipment. Victorian residents aged under 65 may receive 100 percent funding under the RDSI scheme - contact an Occupational Therapist at your local low vision agency for details.
"CATS" (Complete Affordable Talking System).
Software to operate on any IBM-compatible PC, (a Pentium 2, 200 megahertz, 128 megabytes of RAM is all that's required - or 400 megahertz, 256 megabytes of RAM if you want to run a scanner as well.) Combines a:
- typing tutor
- spelling tutor
- word processor
- database (which can be barcode-driven)
- address book
- telephone dialler
- diary
- e-mail, and
- optional flatbed scanner.
Very easy to understand pair of British voices, male and female.
Text enlargement in a range of sizes and colours.
Exceptionally easy to use, with a consistent command set, presented in simple language.
Key combinations such as alt-F are not required.
Set of CDs to help you learn.
Recommended retail price: 770 Australian dollars, no GST. Demonstration version available for 50 dollars, no GST.
You supply the PC - or ask our representative to source one for you!
The absolutely most painless way to get into using a talking computer!
"CATS" Flatbed Scanner.
An accessory for the "CATS" computer system. Can also be supplied without the remainder of the "CATS" suite (Typing Tutor etc).
Based on a Canon LIDE-70 scanner, this accepts source material up to A4 size, upside down, at right angles ("two pages to view"), skewed by up to 10 degrees, multiple columns including newsprint.
Multiple pages can be scanned at one time. Scanned results may be saved on the computer by name, and retrieved and extended at a later time.
Time to scan, recognize and present a document on the screen is: 80 - 100 seconds (first page), 30 - 40 seconds (each subsequent page).
Results may be read using speech and large text, with controllable speed, size and colour.
Recommended retail price: 300 Australian dollars if you already have a CATS system, 600 dollars if you have a suitable PC and don't want the rest of CATS, 1100 dollars if you have a suitable PC and want both CATS and the scanner. No GST.
"Serenade" Scanner.
Based on a Canon LIDE-70 scanner, this accepts source material up to A4 size, upside down, at right angles ("two pages to view"), skewed by up to 10 degrees, multiple columns including newsprint.
Multiple pages can be scanned at one time. Scanned results may (only if required) be saved on the system by name, and retrieved and extended at a later time. All scans are automatically saved in a 100-deep "recall list" which may be browsed without needing to give the scans names.
Time to scan, recognize and present a document on the screen is: 80 - 100 seconds (first page), 30 - 40 seconds (each subsequent page).
Results may be read using speech and large text, with controllable speed, size and colour.
Four levels of expertise.
- Beginner level. Only a "GO" and a "STOP" button are required, plus knobs for speed and volume.
- Primary level. Requires learning the down-arrow key to access. Adds more choices to scans. Follow the "more info" link below.
- Intermediate level. A central keypad allows the user to navigate by letter, word and sentence. Scanned files may be saved by using a left-hand keypad to name them. This keypad is laid out as a mobile telephone "texting" pad. Documents may be saved into different folders, e.g. cookery, romance, adventure.
- Advanced level. Allows the user to add, delete and rename folders and to archive documents to floppy disk.
Recommended retail price: 1900 Australian dollars. No GST.
"Music Marvellous" Music Tutor.
This is designed to teach people to play a keyboard in their own home, at their own rate.
It involves a Yamaha E313 5-octave instrument which is available from any good music retailer, for $ 300, plus our talking box which attaches to the Yamaha, costing a further $ 370. We program the box to sense key values, velocities and timings and give you instant feedback on accuracy and technique, while teaching you 20 tunes.
The list of tunes for this first course is: Ode to Joy, Aura Lee, Good King Wenceslas, Jingle Bells, Brother John, Going Home, Mary Ann, What Can I Share?, When the Saints go Marching In, Love Somebody, The Can-Can, Happy Birthday, Blow the Man Down, Little Brown Jug, O Sole Mio, Jericho, Greensleeves, Scarborough Fair, The Entertainer, and Amazing Grace.
Subsequent courses will extend the repertoire by 20-odd songs each, for about $100 per course. Courses are supplied on digital memory cards and can be easily swapped in and out of our box.
The courses teach theory and scales as well as tunes, making it much more than just a "learn-by-rote" toy.
In the future, we plan to offer a reprogrammed version of the talking box that will turn the instrument into a 16-channel sequencer, allowing budding composers to write their own music.
We also plan to release a package that will let you scan any piece of music and have it read to you as notes, so that you can learn it independently.
Recommended retail price: 670 Australian dollars including Yamaha keyboard.
"EX-1" External Synthesiser.
A battery- or mains-operated synthesiser compatible with the DoubleTalk LT (TMReg).
Serial (RS-232) input. Automatic baud rate detection.
Beefy 65mm diameter mylar cone speaker gives good bass response.
Supplied with 9-pin RS232 extender lead and fitted 9 volt alkaline battery.
Price: 700 Australian dollars, no GST.