POET Compact Print Scanning and Speaking Reader

Imagine having any book you chose from the Library read out loud to you, not just those pre-recorded in “Talking Book” catalogues?  Or any piece of your private correspondence*.

The new POET COMPACT is an easy-to-use speaking device that takes printed materials such as books, newspapers, mail, magazines, recipes, printed prescriptions and so on and speaks them out loud with a superbly clear human-like voice, in addition the NEW Poet has a CD Drive that can read a number of different CD's. 

The POET Compact is designed to bring independent reading back to people whose vision is too limited to be assisted by CCTV magnifiers, or those who prefer the “talking book” format.  

There is a wide selection of voices that can read your correspondence to you, natural sounding English, American, and now even male and female Australian accents.  

The New Poet Compact

The POET is EASY

Simply place the reading material under the lid of the POET (as if you were taking a photocopy), press a button and in a few moments the print will be read out loud to you by a clear and steady natural sounding “human” voice, from internal speakers or through headphones for privacy.    The speed of speaking and the volume are easily adjusted by a couple of dials.  

Anybody, young or old, even with  very limited or no sight at all, can use the POET Compact because it is so simple to use and because the 5 front-panel buttons and 2 dials are so distinctively designed. 

Absolutely NO computer skills are required to operate this simple reading machine.

The POET is Convenient

 You can choose to save any documents you scan for reading later on, and these are stored indefinitely.  The POET has an enormous capacity - it can store more than 500,000 pages!  This is the equivalent of about 10 years reading!   To save a document, simply speak a suitable name to the POET and it will store it for you. 

 Of course, you may also choose to discard material after it has been read to you.

 The POET is Intelligent

 Don’t worry if you put the reading material in “back to front” by mistake - the POET automatically works out which way round it should be!  The POET also takes care of complicated layouts like columns and tables of information.  It copes with even very tiny print and small figures.  The POET makes sense of different font styles, even white on black, and coloured print - the POET works it all out for you, automatically.

 The POET is Compact

Weighing just 6.7 Kg, and measuring 49 cm long by 33 cm wide by 9 cm high, the POET is about the size of a briefcase and will fit neatly on to any desk, table or bench.  The POET has a robust case which is attractively styled.  No batteries are required - just plug POET into a power point, switch on, sit back and let POET read to you.  And, for foreign language speakers, there are optional modules available. With a module installed  the POET will also read virtually all of the European languages, as well as English texts.

The Poet Now Has a Disk Drive

With the integral Disk Drive, Poet users now can play standard CD's and standard talking books on CD, and even DAISY Talking Books. The Poet has become the 'one-stop' option for reading for the vision impaired. No need for separate devices for CD's , Daisy Talking Books, or even standard books from the library, the POET can do it all for you.

 The Poet is Transportable

 There is now a high-quality, padded, silver-gray carrying case available for the Poet so that you can have the convenience of reading wherever or whenever you travel.

 The Poet Is Now A Tool For Deaf-Blind People.       

Now people with Vision Impairment and a Hearing Impairment can also use the Poet!

The VarioConnect  refreshable Braille Displays that is also manufactured by Baum Elektronik,

(the manufacturers of the Poet Compact) and this can now be directly connected to the Poet.

The Braille Display echoes all of the words that are spoken by the Poet, including its command phrases.

The Poet can be controlled either with it’s own simple buttons, or with the buttons of the VarioConnect Braille display,

for the convenience of the Braille reader.

At last a simple scanning system is available for people with the multiple disabilities of vision and hearing impairment, that gives independent access to print!

NOW ALL NEW  ......

the Poet BE

Print Scanning and Speaking Reader.

The Poet BE (Book Edge) is an exciting addition to the 'Poet Family'

With all the simplicity of the Poet Compact and yet with an important added feature!

With the Poet BE the book is simply placed on the scanner with the  books centre against the scanners edge.

The Poet BE then, with just a simple touch of one button, scans right up to the edge of the scanner, and reads right into the spine of the book and recognises and speaks the whole page easily and accurately.

NO MORE MISSED WORDS ON THE EDGE OR CENTRE OF THE PAGE!!

Poet BE can read the largest books without any damage to the spine of the book, as no pressure is needed on the book to flatten the centre, with this brilliant new device.

Of course POET BE can also read other printed materials, newspapers, magazines and single sheets just like the POET COMPACT, but with the added facilities of the Book Edge scanner POET BE adds a new world of accuracy in reading for those with vision impairment.

The selection of voices and reading speeds remains the same, and POET BE uses the same distinctive, easy to use, simple controls, (the 5 front panel buttons, and two dials) that POET COMPACT has made the standard.

Even Smaller in size than the Poet Compact the Poet BE is truly a huge advance in a small package, only 44 cm long, 27 cm wide and 10 cm high!

Poet BE protects valuable books ensuring the binding is not damaged by flattening the spine of the book in an attempt to allow the scanner to read into the centre of the book.

It is simple to locate the book on the scanner, just open the book to the desired page and then slide the book onto the scanner until it is right against the centre of the book. The Poet BE will then scan and speak the page accurately for your reading pleasure.

Like the Poet Compact, by simply attaching a Vario Connect Braille Display to the Poet BE it becomes a device that can be used by those with deafness and blindness, or by the people who prefer to read their books in Braille.

(Both contracted and uncontracted Braille is available).

With the Poet BE all books become Braille books!

Click Here to open a PDF (Acrobat) Information Sheet about the Poet BE