Have you ever thought about how a blind person knows if the milk has gone bad, when the smell isn’t horrid? How does one who is blind find out something about a certain product or service if there is no smell, and the sense of touch doesn’t differentiate between “A” and “B”? The questions raised are interesting, and illustrate how the little details in our life that we take for granted are an anomaly for our friends and colleagues that are blind. Fortunately, enough the Be My Eyes app has created an app that empowers the blind to make wiser decisions for issues that they can’t solve on their own or struggle to make on their own.
If we rewind back to April 2012, founder Hans Jørgen Wiberg – visually impaired himself – met with the rest of the team and came up with the idea at a Startup Weekend event in Denmark, where they won the price for “the most innovative idea”. Since then, they’ve been setting their sights on creating a viable network between those that need and can give aid by “lending their eyes”.
Luckily, we were able to get a few words from the innovative founder:
Being visually impaired myself I know the challenges blind people face. It’s my hope that by helping each other as an online community, Be My Eyes will make a big difference in the everyday lives of blind people all over the world.
How does it work? Currently only on iPhone (the company has said that an Android version will be available in ’15, thanks to Robocat) it enables a visually impaired person to have a video call with someone else (that isn’t visually impaired) in order to get feedback on the small aspects that are just another moment in our lives, but a tougher minute in the life of a visually impaired human.
Do you want to get involved? All you do is sign up, create a profile, and then you can instantly start helping people. Of course, no app would be complete without an element of gaming, so the Be My Eyes app team has created a system for volunteers to earn points and get promoted to new levels as they help more people, aside from just enabling volunteers to be socially responsible.
I just helped a blind man with settings on his oven using #BeMyEyes thru my phone – love using tech to help others! http://t.co/s3mKKEahm8
— Sara J. Landes (@SJLandes) January 24, 2015
You too can put a smile on someone’s face with your small act!
So that @BeMyEyes app I talked up yesterday. It works! A woman in Saudi Arabia just helped me identify/read a flyer. Spread the word! #ftw
— Michelle McQuigge (@mich_mcq) January 23, 2015
Today, the Copenhagen based non-profit has more than 109,000 volunteers, 9,320 blind users, and thus far the app has helped a blind person more than 25,700 times. The “Be My Eyes” app is translated into 34 languages, and pairs volunteers and blind in 80 languages, with more to come (currently using the site http://crowdin.com/bemyeyes). As mentioned, an Android version will come out soon. Until then, help spread the word, help someone out on your iPhone, and help the Be My Eyes app get translated into another language or two!
Got an iPhone? What are you waiting for?
