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Be My Eyes: The app that lets the blind see!
Be My Eyes a Danish nonprofit has combined live video chat with a community of sighted volunteers as the basis of an IOS app that lets you help a visually-impaired individual 'see' through their phone's video camera.
As a sighted person if you register with the service you wait for the app to send you a notification when a visually-impaired person who has also signed up needs help. Once the match is found both of you are connected through audio and video call, essentially allowing you to 'lend' your eyes to them.
The app has already helped over 35,000 blind people with problems related to the kitchen, such as checking the expiry date of products or helping a visually-impaired person locate a specific door number in an area they are not familiar with. Everyday helpers lend their eyes to solve both the big and small challenges the blind face.
Currently, the app employs volunteers at random, with technology matching each user based on their language and time zone. There's also a blocking feature so that if two people don't get along Be My Eyes makes sure that they won't get paired again, cause that would be awkward.
For now Be My Eyes co-founder Thelle Christensen promises to keep the basic service free and as it continues to make a big difference in the lives of the blind, it easy to see why a service like this should be accessible to everyone.
