Assistive Hardware

Details on how we provide access to assisitive hardware and what types of equipment are available.

Types of assistive hardware

Scanners

Scanners copy images whether they be pictures, printed text, journals etc into a digital image that can then be altered and changed by the user to make it more accessible for them.

Location: Scanners are available with all Accessible PCs, including Accessible Study Rooms 1-3 in the Main Library and Accessible Study Rooms 1 and 2 in the Noreen and Kenneth Murray Library at King's Buildings.

SARA, a speaking scanner, is available in accessible study room 1 in the Main Library and Accessible Study Room 2 at the Noreen and Kenneth Murray Library, King's Buildings.

Intel Reader

This handy mobile device lets you take a picture of any printed page and convert it to a digital text. The Intel Reader is a mobile handheld A5 sized high resolution camera unit that enables a user to take photos of a book whilst a built in computer converts this image to digital text using Optical Character Recognition (OCR). It can then read this out loud to the user or be transferred to another device as a text, DAISY or sound file. DAISY is a format that synchronises text with audio and has an easy to navigate structure.

Location: May be borrowed from the Disability and Learning Support Service with prior agreement.

CCTV

The CCTV is a piece of equipment that allows you to view a book or printed article via a screen which then enables you to magnify the document and change the colour of the background and fonts as well as being able to specify the way the information is displayed e.g. a line at a time.

Locations:  Accessible PC in Moray House Library

HD desktop document magnifier readers with OCR

Desktop video magnifiers provide magnification and other optical and colour adjustments to allow reading of printed documents. They also utilise optical character recognition processing to read aloud printed text. There is a Humanware Prodigi magnifier in Accessible Study Room 3 at the Main Library and a Merlin magnifier in Accessible Study Room 1, Noreen and Kenneth Murray Library, King's Buildings.

Peripherals

All Accessible PC’s are on adjustable height desks, have large widescreen monitors, optional ergonomic mice and specialised keyboards which are either ergonomic or high visibility.

All libraries have an ergonomic mice and wrist support mouse mats to borrow from the Helpdesk.

A large print keyboard is available in accessible study room 2 in the Main Library.

Request an alternative format

To request this document in an alternative format, such as large print or on coloured paper, please contact Viki Galt, the Head of Disability Information.

BSL users can contact me via Contact Scotland BSL, the on-line British Sign Language interpreting service. Find out more on the Contact Scotland BSL website.

Contact Scotland BSL website