Printed books are used everyday across the globe, and for those who struggle to read and write, this presents significant barriers. Consequently, alternative solutions are required to provide printed books in a format that is accessible by all. With the advent of digital talking books, a new era has emerged to provide books in a robust electronic format that will enable struggling students and professionals alike to successfully read and extract meaning from books. Recently, two standards have been widely adopted - the Digital Accessible Information System (DAISY) standard and the National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard (NIMAS).

Aequus uses its Semantic Web Accessibility Platform (SWAP) to convert printed books into DAISY / NIMAS digital talking books. When bundled with AspireREADER™, digital talking books are designed to meet the needs of content owners, including textbook publishers, workforce training, or professional development. Digital talking books can be delivered by CD, DVD or via the Internet.

Users can experience multi-sensory learning by listening to books via human-recorded or computer-generated speech while the corresponding text is highlighted by word, sentence, or paragraph. Moreover, advanced reading and navigation controls enable users to jump directly to specific locations in the book (i.e. particular pages and sections), read by paragraph, sentence, or word; search for keywords; and control the rate of speech output.

Aequus then goes beyond the DAISY / NIMAS standards by synchronizing the XML-based content with the actual layout of the print book. Thus, providing a solution that enables users to view the book as it is found in the printed version. Pages are also scalable and can be enlarged with clarity and panned for easy viewing.

Additionally, AspireREADER™ Extensions may be purchased to activate special features that allow users to extend the capabilities of AspireREADER™ to include virtual sign language and interactive math solutions.