BBC News – App links sighted helpers with blind people

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A can of soup feels very much like a can of beans. And if you shake them… they sound similar too. So if you’re blind and don’t fancy soup on toast tonight, you might want to think about downloading a new smartphone app which connects you via live video to a sighted volunteer who can tell you which can is which.

Hans Jorgen Wiberg is the inventor of Be My Eyes, a free app developed in Copenhagen. He says the idea is that blind people would mostly use it at home where there are many things they need to be able to see, as well as having good wi-fi connection.

Wiberg says blind users are using it in other situations too: “People have used it when they go somewhere on a bus and they get off but then they can’t find the door into the building. They use Be My Eyes to get the last 20 metres.

“The response has been totally overwhelming,” says Wiberg who is visually impaired himself. “We launched this 12 days ago and now we have 99,000 helpers worldwide. There are so many nice people in this world, I can tell you.” A much smaller number of 8,000 blind people have signed up seeking help.

 

 

Curated from BBC News – App links sighted helpers with blind people