Happy Days! The 'Be My Eyes' App Makes Seeing The World a Breeze
With the advent of smartphones, there are a plethora of apps available in the palm of your hand. You can play games, check your bank balance, and do online shopping. For blind users, these devices have opened up a whole new world that was not accessible to them previously. In this blog, I will tell you about one of my favourite apps, Be My Eyes, and how I use it in my everyday life.
There are lots of instances in which sighted assistance is really useful. If I want to know how much time is left on my washing machine, or I want to read a street sign, I would be lost. This is where Be My Eyes comes in. This app connects me to a sighted volunteer who can access my camera and describe my surroundings. There are volunteers all over the world who give up their precious time to help blind and low-vision users who access the app. Every volunteer I have connected with has been brilliant, and it is great to converse with people from all over the globe. I never have to wait more than 30 seconds to connect with a volunteer. Since its launch in 2015, it has amassed a volunteer base of over 6 million people, speaking over 180 languages, so you are bound to get hold of someone fairly quickly.
A new service launched by Be My Eyes last year adds even more functionality to the app and makes full use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology. Be My AI allows users to take a picture and have it described using Artificial Intelligence. It is accessed through the Be My Eyes home screen, so you have both service options depending on your needs.
I was dubious about Be My AI because I thought, 'How can you get better than talking to an actual human?' How wrong I was! The descriptions are scarily accurate. I can take a picture of a bottle, and not only will it tell me if it is mayonnaise or salad cream, but it will also list all the ingredients on the label, tell me how much is left in the bottle, and even tell me what kind of surface the bottle is sitting on!
A friend of mine had a picture of himself standing next to a picture in a gallery, which he described using Be My AI. It knew the artist and what the picture was. It can be a little slow to bring up a description, but with the level of detail it offers, it is worth the wait. Both Be My Eyes and Be My AI require an internet connection, so if you need a description while on the move, you need to be in a good signal area.
The Be My Eyes and Be My AI apps have really helped me in a tangible way. It has offered me sighted assistance when needed, whether with a sighted volunteer or an AI description. The fact that the app is free just makes it all the more remarkable. If developers continue creating innovative apps such as this, a whole new world will open up to people with disabilities.