Bringing Magnification to New Heights with Apollo

Apollo expands learning opportunities, refines user experience and pushes past the bounds of traditional magnifiers. With a Microsoft Surface pro tablet display, Apollo gives users access to unparalleled options for customized magnification and access to the full Windows suite all in one device.  

With Apollo, users have access to three cameras: optical character recognition (OCR), document and handwriting. The combination of these three cameras is what allows for complete customization and control of magnified viewing. Users can take an image of a print document in front of them, and using the tablet display, magnify the image and move it around the screen with ease. There is an editing tool that allows for writing directly onto the document rather than attempting to write on the paper copy with a pen below the magnifier. Traditionally, magnifiers amplify an image but require the user to move the physical document below the camera to view different portions of the text. For students completing worksheets, this means they must balance finding the correct view of the text while also trying to write along the paper below. With Apollo, the entire page can be viewed and edited without ever moving the physical document.  

Split-screen mode takes the experience a step further. In split-screen mode, students could use one of Apollo’s cameras to magnify their classroom board while using another to magnify their own notes page. “It gives students the power to use Apollo however they want. If they want to look at their handwriting using a color filter, that can be added in. But maybe they want to look at the board in full color at the same time, they can do that. You can zoom in and adjust views independently,” said American Printing House (APH)’s Technical Innovation Product Manager, Jason Martin. 

Apollo has all the traditional functions of a standard magnifier like saving images, zooming in and out and color filters, but the Microsoft Surface tablet takes it a step further.  Students can easily customize the Apollo application “carousel” to include programs within the Windows suite, such as an e-book reader, graphing calculator, classroom programs and  much more. “During my time as a teacher, I received so many devices that had applications our students never even used. I didn’t want to do that. So instead, we gave Apollo the ability to house any website or Windows application within the carousel,” said Martin. “It opens up the opportunity for students to access more powerful programs without a full knowledge of computers.” 

The Windows suite, combined with options for customizable magnification, makes Apollo a comfortable option for users of any age. Whether viewing a page of their own handwriting, or typing notes in a Word document with a split-screen view of a classroom PowerPoint, Apollo meets the needs of the individual. Once connected to a traditional docking station, Apollo becomes its own fully magnified computer. With coming updates, Martin hopes to expand Apollo’s reach even further with options for iOS connectivity.  

“A teacher of mine used to change the popular phrase ‘shoot for the moon and you’ll land among the stars’ to say, ‘if I shoot for the stars, maybe I’ll land on the moon.’ Making Apollo, we shot for the best product we could, and it feels like we landed on the moon,” said Martin. 

To learn more about Apollo, visit our website.