Eye-Pal Ace Version 2.0 User Manual ABiSee, Inc. 30 Sudbury Rd., Unit 1B Acton, MA 01720 www.abisee.
Table of Contents Introduction 3 What's in the Box 3 The Basics 3 Reading/Zoom Cameras 3 Object Lighting 3 Speakers 4 Position 4 Buttons, Controls, Connections 4 Power and Battery 8 Power Button 8 Power Indicator Light 8 Power Up 8 Standby Mode 8 Power Down 8 Checking the Battery Charge Status 9 Charging the Battery 9 Navigation and Settings 9 Main Menu Option List 10 Scan and Read 10 Voice Mode Settings 11 Text Mode 12 Generic Scan and Read Settings 13 Managing Documents 13 Saving Documents and Books 13 Sa
Appendix B. Troubleshooting 24 Appendix C: Braille Display Information 26 Freedom Scientific Focus 14 Page 28 ALVA BC640 Page 29 APH Refreshabraille 18 Page 30 HIMS Braille Edge 40 Page 31 Baum SuperVario2 40 / Humanware/PDI Brailliant 40 Page 32 Humanware Brailliant bi40 Page 33 Contact ABiSee 34 2 ACEManual rev.
Introduction Congratulations on choosing the Eye-Pal Ace device. ABiSee’s Eye-Pal Ace (hereafter referred to as the Ace) is a portable electronic text-tospeech device for people with visual impairment and for those who are blind. The Ace is compatible with select refreshable Braille displays, allowing nearly instant conversion of text to Braille.
additional light is needed even in a dark room. Speakers Any material with printed text placed in front of the Ace can be read out loud using built-in speakers. Alternatively, headphones or a Braille display can be plugged in, or the Reading Mode can be set to Text Mode for those who prefer to read silently.
Top Panel Buttons: Home Button: A large round button located in the middle on top of the device. Press it anytime to get to the main menu. Volume knob: Located in the upper right corner, on top of the device. Turn it clockwise to increase the volume or counterclockwise to decrease the volume. Daisy Buttons: Located on the left side on top of the device. The Daisy Buttons have a total of five buttons: four arrow buttons and one round button centered between them.
Left Roller: Located at the front left shoulder of the device. Scroll it up to up to increase font size or down to decrease font size. Alternatively, in the settings choices, the Left Roller function can be easily be switched to control reading speed rather than font size. Scan Button: The Scan Button is a half-moon shaped Button located on the right on top of the device in front of the Volume Knob. This is used to take a picture of text you want to scan. Back Button: Located above the Left Roller.
Side Connections/Power Button: On the left side, toward the bottom and back, there is a set of ports aligned vertically. The first one from the bottom is for plugging in the power supply. Just above that is a round power button. Above that is a USB port, and above that is a second USB port. To summarize, in general, use the Right Roller to scroll through the menu items and the Action Button to confirm the menu selection. Use the Back Button when in a submenu to return to the previous menu.
Power and Battery Power Button The Power Button is located on the left side of the device toward the back near the bottom, just above a small round port for the power supply. Power Indicator Light The Power indicator light is located above the Power Button. The light glows steady green when the device is on; the light blinks when the device is in standby mode; the light is off when the device is turned off.
Checking the Battery Charge Status To quickly check the battery status, press the round Center Daisy Button. An announcement will tell you what menu screen you are in and the battery status. The battery status is also given in the Settings sub-menu under Status. To get to the Status menu from the Main Menu, scroll to and select Settings. Then scroll to and select Status. (The percentage of available battery charge is announced and also displayed in the screen). “100%” means a fully charged battery.
Main Menu Option List Scan and Read Document Management Zoom Calendar (Includes a reminder function) Photo Album Clock (Includes an alarm function) Settings Help Scan and Read This function enables you to read printed text like letters, books, portions of food packages and medicine labels, including the fine print. The Ace reads printed text aloud (unless a Braille display is in use), and displays magnified text on the screen. Scanned material can be saved.
sun and there is too much light, you can turn the light off by pressing the Daisy down arrow. You will hear, “Light Off.” Press the same button again to turn the light back on when desired. Position your document as described above. Press the Scan Button once – you will hear a shutter sound. The Ace will start reading the text almost immediately after that. Do not press any other buttons until the Ace starts reading, as it will interrupt the scanning/reading process.
select Reading Speed. Next, scroll between the speed values from 1 (the slowest) to 10 (the fastest). Stop at your preferred speed and set it with the Action Button. Voice/Language: To adjust the setting for your preferred reading voice or language, from the Main Menu, scroll to and select Settings. Then, scroll to and select General Settings. Next, scroll to and select Reading Voice.* Next, scroll through available language/voice combinations and select your preference.
magnification with the Left Roller. If you have previously changed the settings in the Settings menu for the Left Roller to control Reading Speed, you will need to switch this back if you want to use the Left Roller for font magnification. Generic Scan and Read Settings Generic Scan and Read settings apply to both reading modes. Font, Font Size, Contrast: To adjust the setting for your preferred font, font size or contrast, begin at the Main Menu.
Please note: Scanned documents being saved via Scan and Read mode can only be saved internally. If you want to save a document to a flash drive, you must do this via the Document Management mode. If you would like to convert the documents or books you are saving to txt format that can be edited on a computer, or if you would like to convert saved material to an MP3 file so you can listen to the file on different player, save your material to a USB flash drive.
multi-page document or book, select Document Management from the Main Menu. Next, select Management, and then select Save. Scroll to the “Save Book” option and select it. You will hear, “Press Action Button to Record.” Speak the label you would like to name your multi-page document or book, and press the Action Button when finished. Press the Action Button to confirm if you are satisfied with the label or, to re-record it, press the Back Button and then select “Save Book” again to repeat the process.
explained above in the Scan and Read Section, with these exceptions: Press the Down arrow to go to the next page. You will hear, for example: “Opening page three of three.” Press the Up arrow to go to the previous page. You will hear, for example: “Opening page two of three.” Deleting a Document To delete a previously saved document or book, from the Main Menu, scroll to and select Document Management. Next, select Management. Scroll to and select “Delete.
One-time Reminder or a Daily Reminder. When the time for a reminder arrives, you will hear a musical chime to alert you. You can then select “Listen to Reminder” to hear the recording or press the Home Button to return to the Main Menu. If you have walked out of the room and did not hear the chime when it initially sounded, it will chime every 15 minutes until you either listen to the reminder or return to the Main Menu.
date and end date for the reminder and then the time. One-Time Reminders: Provides the option to select and hear/read dates and times for All One-Time Reminders, One-Time Reminders for the Next 7 Days, or One-Time Reminders for the next 31 Days. By selecting a particular date and time, you will then be given the option to Listen to Reminder, Delete Reminder or Change Reminder.
After choosing the album you want to add photo(s) to, you will be prompted to insert a device with photos. Next, insert a USB drive with photos in a “Pictures” folder. The photos will be added to the album you chose. To record a voice label: From the Main Menu, scroll to and select Photo Album. Next, scroll to and select View Album. Then, scroll to and select the album you want. Scroll to and select the photo that you want to label. The photo options menu will open to “Record Voice Label.
To change the clock from 12 to 24 hour mode, from the Main Menu, scroll to and select Settings. Next, select General Settings and scroll to and select Time Format. Scroll to and select your preference of 12 hour or 24 hour format.
functionality and the function of each button. You can interrupt the Help talk by pressing any Button, and the Ace will explain the function of the selected Button. If you press the Home Button, it will bring you to the Main Menu. If you want continual voice instruction as you navigate through menu options, you can “Enable Additional Voice Guidance” by choosing Settings from the Main Menu, and then choosing General Settings.
WARRANTY TWO YEAR WARRANTY ON ALL ABISEE, INC. PRODUCTS: ABiSee, Inc. warrants to the original purchaser that its products are free from defects in materials and workmanship (with exception of the battery) for two years from the date of purchase. The battery is warrantied against defectiveness for nine months from the date of purchase.
Appendix A: Safety Rules Handle the Ace with care. Rough handling will damage the device. Be especially careful with the screen – do not touch it with sharp objects. When you carry the device outside, use a protective case. If the Ace is not in a standing position, do not place any heavy or sharp objects on the screen surface. Use only the Power Adapter that comes with the Ace. Do not open the Ace (except for the battery compartment) under any circumstances; it will void the warranty.
Appendix B. Troubleshooting When turning on the Ace, make sure no flash drives are plugged into the device. Troubleshooting: Power/battery/connections 1. If the Ace does not respond to any Button: Make sure the battery is charged. If the battery is empty, connect the power adaptor to charge the battery. If the battery is fully charged, but the device stopped responding to any Button, turn the device off, then on again. 2. If the adaptor does not power the Ace: Check the connections.
scan the document. The need for the camera light to be turned off usually occurs if you are scanning a glossy document or the device is near a window where very bright sunlight is shining through. The Daisy down arrow will need to be pressed after you have selected the Scan and Read mode with the Action Button. Troubleshooting: Calendar Application 1. If you do not hear the reminder after you finished your recording: Increase the volume – turn the Volume knob clockwise.
Appendix C: Braille Display Information Part A: Using a refreshable Braille display with the Ace (See Part B of Appendix C for details on supported Braille displays and on which control on a particular display corresponds to which control on the Ace). Before using your Braille display, if you want to use Grade 2 Braille, you need to turn this feature on in General Settings as described below. (By default Grade 2 Braille is set to off).
Part B: Supported Braille Displays and Control Details This section has a picture of each of the supported Braille displays with the buttons labeled. After each diagram, there is a table that lists each control on the Ace in the first column, followed by the corresponding control on the Braille display in the second column.
Freedom Scientific Focus 14 Table of corresponding controls for the Freedom Scientific Focus 14 Control on Ace: Control on Braille Display. Right Roller Up: Right NAV Rocker Up. Right Roller Down: Right NAV Rocker Down. Left Roller Up: Left NAV Rocker Up. Left Roller Down: Left NAV Rocker Down. Action: Right Mode Button. Back: Left Mode Button. Scan: Right Selector Button. Home: Left Selector Button. Function: Control on Braille Display. Pan Display Left: Left Panning Button.
ALVA BC640 Table of corresponding controls for the ALVA BC640 Control on Ace: Control on Braille Display. Right Roller Up: Smartpad Up or Thumb Key 2. Right Roller Down: Smartpad Down or Thumb Key 3. Left Roller Up: F4 + Smartpad Left. Left Roller Down: F4 + Smartpad Right. Action: Smartpad Right. Back: Smartpad Left. Scan: Center thumb key. Home: F2. Volume Down: F4 + Smartpad Down. Volume Up: F4 + Smartpad Up. Function: Control on Braille Display. Pan Display Left: Thumb Key 1.
APH Refreshabraille 18 Table of corresponding controls for the APH Refreshable 18 Control on Ace: Control on Braille Display. Right Roller Up: Joystick Up or SPACE+1. Right Roller Down: Joystick Down or SPACE+4. Left Roller Up: SPACE+1+2. Left Roller Down: SPACE+4+5. Action: SPACE+8. Back: SPACE+1+5 (E-chord) or SPACE+7. Scan: Joystick Press or SPACE+2+3+4 (Schord). Daisy Center: SPACE+3+4 (ST-chord). Daisy Left: SPACE+3. Daisy Right: SPACE+6. Daisy Up: SPACE+1+2+3 (L-chord).
HIMS Braille Edge 40 Table of corresponding controls for the HIMS Braille Edge 40 Control on Ace: Control on Braille Display. Right Roller Up: Up on either directional pad or SPACE+1. Right Roller Down: Down on either directional pad or SPACE+4. Left Roller Up: SPACE+1+2. Left Roller Down: SPACE+4+5. Action: SPACE+8. Back: SPACE+1+5 (E-chord) or SPACE+7. Scan: SPACE+2+3+4 (S-chord). Daisy Center: SPACE+3+4 (ST-chord). Daisy Left: SPACE+3. Daisy Right: SPACE+6.
Baum SuperVario2 40 / Humanware/PDI Brailliant 40 Table of corresponding controls for the Baum SuperVario2 40 and Humanware/PDI Brailliant 40 Control on Ace: Control on Braille Display. Right Roller Up: 1. Right Roller Down: 4. Left Roller Up: 1+2. Left Roller Down: 4+5. Action: 1+5 (E). Back: 1+3+4+6 (X). Scan: 2+3+4 (S). Daisy Center: 3+4 (ST). Daisy Left: 3. Daisy Right: 6. Daisy Up: 1+2+3 (L). Daisy Down: 4+5+6. Home: 1+2+3+4+5+6 (FOR). Volume Down: 2+3. Volume Up: 5+6.
Humanware Brailliant bi40 Table of corresponding controls for the Humanware Brailliant bi40 Control on Ace: Control on Braille Display. Right Roller Up: SPACE+1 or Left. Right Roller Down: SPACE+4 or Right. Left Roller Up: SPACE+1+2. Left Roller Down: SPACE+4+5. Action: SPACE+8. Back: SPACE+1+5 (E-chord) or SPACE+7. Scan: SPACE+2+3+4 (S-chord). Daisy Center: SPACE+3+4 (ST-chord). Daisy Left: SPACE+3. Daisy Right: SPACE+6. Daisy Up: SPACE+1+2+3 (L-chord). Daisy Down: SPACE+4+5+6.
Contact ABiSee We welcome your comments, questions and suggestions. Our business hours: Monday through Friday 8:30 am to 5:00 pm EST. By Phone: 1-978-637-2900 or Toll Free in the U.S. at 1-855-354-4080 By Fax: 1-253-595-3623 By E-mail: Sales: sales@ABiSee.com Tech Support: support@ABiSee.com General Info: info@ABiSee.com By Mail: ABiSee, Inc. 30 Sudbury Rd.