Once the encoded text has been brought into a general purpose processing device, the user can browse the information using simple navigation controls, such as keyboard keys, Dpads, or directional motions on a touch-sensitive screen. The processor can deliver information to a user using text-to-speech synthesis through an unobtrusive headset, or small earpiece. With Bluetooth technology maturing, the connection between the processor and the headset could be wireless!
A user doesn't generally want to hear everything encoded in a barcode. For example, a restaurant menu would list many categories of items: appetizers, soups and salads, entrees, desserts, beverages, and more. For someone who has a particular kind of sandwich in mind, they don't want to hear about 90% of what's on the menu. We have developed two technologies to support delivery of desired information to a user early. These are 1) preference capture, and 2) product templates.
Preference capture is a process by which a user can express his or her preferences. Don't like Fish? Tell us. Die for chocolate? Tell us. Prefer not to hear the gory details of nutrition labels on cans and boxes? Tell us. Then when a label for a product is scanned and processed, you won't be bothered with the information you don't like, and you'll hear about your preferred items early. You'll only hear about the non-preferred items if you insist.
Product templates use XML technology to describe standard categories and contents for menus, soup cans, cereal boxes, CD labels, and the like. Information in our barcodes is couched in XML descriptors. When scanned, the encoded information is processed by a device like a PDA. The descriptors support comparison of data with your preferences, and support our goal of telling you what you want to hear as early as possible.
We've come up with "mark rings" to support selection of favored information as you browse the information scanned from a barcode label. You can add and delete items from a mark ring. You can ask to have them played back to you. No need to memorize everything you've heard. Narrow the information down to your favorite parts!
We're working on dynamic preference identification too. Even if you forget to tell us you'd eat chocolate every time it's offered, after a few times of ordering chocolate we'll figure it out. Then it will start appearing in preferred items presented to you next time.
