PALO ALTO, Calif.--(Business Wire)--HP (NYSE:HPQ) and Mouscan, a Korea-based start-up company with
scanning and mouse expertise, today announced a licensing agreement
that will offer people a way to listen to printed text.
Mouscan will use HP handheld scanning technology and its own
text-to-voice software to develop Voiscan, a product that will allow
people to scan hard copy text in any language using a handheld device
and then receive a spoken translation of the scanned text.
The technology has potential applications as, for example, a
reading aid for the blind and visually impaired, a translation tool
for tourists traveling in foreign countries and an educational aid for
those learning to speak another language.
Under the agreement, HP will license its intellectual property to
Mouscan in return for royalty payments. Mouscan will develop,
manufacture and sell the product, which the company expects to be
commercially available worldwide by the end of 2008.
"HP welcomes partnerships with start-ups like Mouscan to help them
find capital while giving new life to technology developed in HP
Labs," said Joe Beyers, vice president, Intellectual Property
Licensing, HP. "Our IP licensing program is one way HP can help make
useful technologies such as Voiscan widely available."
The Voiscan product incorporates a handheld scanning technology
invented by HP Labs, the company's central research unit. Unlike most
scanners, HP's handheld scanning technology does not require the
scanned image to be laid flat; this allows the user to scan images on
a wall or other vertical surfaces.
HP's scanning technology also allows users to scan a large image
with multiple passes of the device, which then digitally reassembles
the overall image out of the segments captured during each pass.
This capability makes Voiscan an ideal solution for the visually
impaired or those traveling to foreign countries to understand signage
- whether a menu posted outside a restaurant or a description of a
painting on a museum wall.
"Breakthroughs in mobile and wireless technologies are
revolutionizing the way people use technology in their everyday
lives," said Yang Yu, chief executive officer, Mouscan. "This
pioneering handheld scanning technology developed by HP allows us to
bring to market a unique device that facilitates communication from
text to audio anywhere, anytime and in any language."
HP encourages organizations worldwide to leverage its vast
research and development network and portfolio of nearly 30,000
patents to bring new technologies to market through intellectual
property licensing agreements. These agreements also enable HP to
generate a return on its research and development investment through
licensing fees and royalties.
More information on HP's intellectual property licensing program
is available at www.hp.com/hpinfo/abouthp/iplicensing/.
About Mouscan
Mouscan was founded in August 2002 in Korea, by Y.C. Moon and Yang
Yu to develop, manufacture and sell a handheld device, called Voiscan,
that reconstructs original scanned images to text and audible voice.
About HP
HP focuses on simplifying technology experiences for all of its
customers - from individual consumers to the largest businesses. With
a portfolio that spans printing, personal computing, software,
services and IT infrastructure, HP is among the world's largest IT
companies, with revenue totaling $104.3 billion for the four fiscal
quarters ended Oct. 31, 2007. More information about HP is available
at www.hp.com.
Note to editors: More news from HP, including links to RSS feeds,
is available at www.hp.com/hpinfo/newsroom/.
This news release contains forward-looking statements that involve
risks, uncertainties and assumptions. If such risks or uncertainties
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HP and its customers, suppliers and partners; the achievement of
expected results; and other risks that are described in HP's Quarterly
Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended July 31, 2007
and HP's other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission,
including but not limited to HP's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the
fiscal year ended Oct. 31, 2006. HP assumes no obligation and does not
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(C) 2007 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The information
contained herein is subject to change without notice. The only
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shall not be liable for technical or editorial errors or omissions
contained herein.
HP
Christina Schneider, +1 650-857-8222
christina.schneider@hp.com
or
Mouscan
Yang Yu, +1 650-515-7513
Y.C. Moon, +82 10 3749 0586
customerservice@mouscan.com
or
HP Media Hotline, +1 866-266-7272
pr@hp.com
www.hp.com/go/newsroom
Copyright Business Wire 2007
