Using technology can be difficult for the visually impaired. Every day activities and services such as getting on the train, reading street signs or checking food labels can be impossible. To help combat this issue, O2 collaborated with the Royal National Institute of Blind People to create Be My Eyes; a voice-activated app for the phone – providing users with another pair of “eyes” they can carry in their pockets.
Be My Eyes provides people who are blind or partially sighted with help. More than 3 million volunteers around the world are connected through the app and ready to offer visual support over the smartphone, using its camera, microphone and speaker. It also gives those with visual impairment the opportunity to live more independently.
The app activates by a simple tap of a button and connects you immediately with a sighted volunteer at any time of the day, anywhere in the world, and it’s free! You can download it on both iPhone and Android and simply start using after a few steps of registration. There are no limitations in daily tasks that this app and volunteers can help with; Be My Eyes is often used to for example find lost items, matching or explaining colours, familiarising yourself with new places or finding out when public transportation is departing.
Our amazing animator George Shelbourn aka MUTE has collaborated with The Guardian Labs to create this beautiful and informative video which is a part of their wider series about technology. It wonderfully introduces the app in a comforting easily digestible animation.
