Humanware Hark User manual

Hark
User Manual
Version 0.1

Introduction
Hark is an electronic test-to-speech device for people who are blind and
those with visual impairment. Enjoy reading any printed material such
as letters, newspapers and books, and hear them read aloud in a
natural-sounding voice.
What's in The Box
Hark device
Power supply / charger
Power cord
eypad (optional)
Manual
Unpacking and Powering up Hark
Place Hark device on a flat surface. Open the neck by lifting it up.
Plug in power adapter to AC power and to Hark power plug located on the left
side of the base,
Press and hod power button located on the left side of the base for 3 seconds.
You will hear the beeps and soon after “Place your document” announcement.
How to Read with Hark
Reading with Hark is very easy. Place your document face up on the base and
make sure it is not moving. eep the document at the edges to make sure text is
not blocked by your hands. Once you placed the document, you will hear shutter
sound and in a few seconds Hark will be reading your document aloud.

Controlling Hark
There are 3 methods to control Hark:
1. Base Buttons
2. Hand Gesture Controls
3. eypad (if optional keypad is included)
Base Buttons Control
Left ide Right ide

Hark has four control buttons on the base
Pause/Resume button located on the right side of the front of the Hark
base. Press this button any time Hark is reading to pause. Press it again to
resume reading
Back button located on the left side of the front of the Hark base. Press this
button to repeat last sentence. Press it twice to read the sentence before
last, three times to read sentence before, etc.
Reading speed buttons. Two moon-shaped buttons located on the right side
of the base. The Speed Down button is the button located closer to the
front of the device. Press Speed Down button to read slower. The further
button is Speed Up button. Press Speed Up button to increase reading
speed.
Volume control slider. Slide the slider to the left to decreaase the volume,
and to the right to increase the volume.
Hand Gesture Controls
Hand gesture is the easiest and most simple way to control Hark. Hand Gesture
controls are disabled by default. To enable, press Pause/Resume button for 3
seconds.
To pause or resume reading: move tour hand slowly just above the document
from left to right
To go back to previous sentence: move tour hand slowly just above the
document from right to left. Repeat multiple times to reach desired sentence.
Please note that the above hand gestures work only when document is on the
Hark base.

Keypad Controls
If optional keypad is included, Hark can be controlled by the keypad.
Help Button is a round button located in the middle of the keypad. Press Help
button to hear the help. Press Help button together with any other button to hear
description of the button and its function.
Pause / Resume Button is a round button located on the top of the keypad in
the center of the arrow keys. This button will pause and resume reading.
Arrow Buttons are four moon-shaped buttons located around Pause/Resume
button. Press Left Arrow button to hear previous word. Press Right Arrow
button to hear next word. Press Up Arrow to hear previous sentence. Press
Down Arrow button to hear next sentence.
Spell Button is located to the right of the Help button. Press Spell button to hear

a spell of the current word.
Voice button is located to the left of the Help button. Press Voice button to
change voice and/or language.
Sa e Button is a square button located on the lower left side of the keypad.
Hold down the Save button and one of the Arrow buttons at the same time. You
will hear, “Image saved.” Up to four pages can be saved; one page designated to
each Arrow button.
Recall Button is a square button located on the lower right side of the keypad.
Hold down the Recall button and press one of the Arrow buttons to read a
previously saved page. You will hear “Reading image.”
See Summary of Commands table for all advanced functions

Summary of Commands
Command Keys on Device Keys on Keypad
Pause or Resume Reading Pause/Resume button Pause/Resume button
Go back one sentence Back button Arrow Up button
Go forward one sentence Arrow Down button
Go forward one word Arrow Rig t button
Go backward one word Arrow Left button
Increase reading speed Speed Up button
Decrease reading speed Speed Down button
Reset Device Back button long press
Enable/Disable gestures Pause/Resume button long press
Switc voice from speaker to
paired Bluetoot eadset /
earing aid
Press Pause/Resume button and
Speed Up button toget er for 3
seconds
Press and old Voice and Arrow
Up buttons for 3 seconds
Switc voice/language (alternate
t roug all languages installed.
T e last item is auto language
detection) See Note1.
Press Pause/Resume button and
Speed Down button toget er for
3 seconds
Press Voice button
Hear general elp Press and old Help button
Hear elp of any button on t e
keypad
Press and old Help button, t en
press t e button to ear elp
Enable/disable read t roug
columns
See Note2.
Press Speed Up and Speed Down
buttons toget er prior to placing
a document
Press Arrow Left and Arrow
Rig t buttons toget er
Spell current word Press and old spell button
Save current page into one of
four memory slots
Press Save button and one of
Arrow buttons.
Read page saved in one of four
memory slots
Press Recall button and one of
arrow buttons.
Note1. W en switc ing language you will ear t e beep, t en announcement of a new language. If
page OCR is not complete, language can not be switc ed until OCR finis ed. In t at case you will ear
beep and not announcement.
Note2. Reading t roug columns is enabled for t e next scanned page only.