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Be My Eyes
- pfortuny 6y agoI have interacted several times with blind people through this app and, honestly, I feel I have received much more than I have given. Truly recommend.
- mistergrady 6y agoI've gotten one call in 3 years of having the app (helped a woman program her Instapot) and I feel the same way
- fullstop 6y agoI helped a blind woman figure out why her computer wasn't working / talking to her -- it was off. I also helped an old woman figure out which pills to take. They were ordered numerically, but she couldn't read the numbers. To be fair, the printing wasn't very good.
- blakesterz 6y agoWOW! 4,454,919 VOLUNTEERS and 277,697 BLIND & LOW-VISION PEOPLE That's a great ratio! Is it safe to say anytime someone needs help they're able to get it?
- abawany 6y agoI've received calls but by the time I pick up (between 2-3 rings) someone else has already picked up the call and is likely helping the caller. I've had the app on my phone for nearly a year and haven't yet been able to handle a call so it seems that people are getting the help promptly when they need it.
- switch007 6y agoAnd that is AMAZING
- bluGill 6y agoMore importantly it means that a blind person isn't constantly bothering the same few people all the time. If every blind person needs help once a day, every volunteer only needs to help once a week. This means you can be helpful without being annoyed by how often a stranger is bothering you.
- adkadskhj 6y agoOn that note, i made a comment in another thread here about how i'm terrified of getting something wrong/etc. However, if the app were to connect me more frequently with people i've positively helped, bonded with, etc (mutually i imagine, tinder-esque hah), it feels less intimidating to mess up if i knew the person a bit. It seems to me part of my fear resolves around a vacuum of fire and forget - never being able to correct my mistake, or help them more to make up for it, or etc. Plus building relationships is neat hah.
- pcthrowaway 6y agoSpeaking as someone who worked as a relay operator for the deaf and hard of hearing, there's likely a reason this doesn't happen. People using these services largely want them to be a transparent layer between them and the thing they're trying to access. Basically the person is there to provide the same access a sighted/hearing person would have. If they form a relationship with the person helping them, they may be less inclined to read sensitive documents. Additionally this gives the helpers a more clear window into the life of another person (which can be used nefariously) rather than, more often, bits and pieces without context.
- ehsankia 6y agoIt is pretty awesome. Honestly the one complaint I've heard is that helpers are sad that they aren't getting more calls and get super excited when they finally get one. Which really is the best kind of the problem to have.
- pfortuny 6y agoI’ve received some 8 calls, and being outrun several other times... It feels like losing a race!
- pranavjoneja 6y agoYep, I've been a helper for 2 years now and I've only received 2 calls
- mlang23 6y agoIndeed, the ratio works out, at least for me. I get help even at night time. As far as I understand, the algorithms uses distance and language to find a helper. So if nobody near me is awake, I can still get help from people speaking my language which live in a different timezone.
- mikefoitzik 6y agoI actually felt good and hopeful for the future after reading about this company/service. I am curious if you have any public articles written about your “purpose and profit” model and how it is working out / evolving. It could be quite inspirational for entrepreneurs trying to come up with ideas that help the world and are economically viable at the same time.
- unix_fan 6y agoI’ve heard great things about this app from other blind friends, but I’m still not sure if I should try it out. I am introverted, and still don’t like talking to strangers on the phone, which is why I prefer using apps with OCR or object recognition.
- ska 6y agoI suspect there are use cases that this is just a really good fit for. One session I had was helping a person find their friend in a park when they had got separated. I'm sure she could have managed other ways, but this was very quick (at least at my end).
- pfortuny 6y agoThe thing is: its totally anonymous and there is afaik no way to know who either party is. I feel you can benefit a lot from it. The people I have helped range from a total computer specialist who could not read something (I was astonished at the things he did with te computer) to a lady asking me whether her dress was stained or not. In any case, try to guve it a try!
- fullstop 6y agoThere's 4+ million volunteers and less than 300k blind. You are very unlikely to ever run into someone you know and the volunteers are literally waiting and wanting to help you. I get that you're introverted -- I'm the same way. With that being said, use the tools that you have! I have anxiety answering the calls but I do it anyway because I know that I can help someone that needs it. The person that you talk to, you will never see or hear from them again. It's a fleeting moment of one human helping another.
- chaz 6y agoI would encourage you to try it out. The expectation on the other side is extremely low -- no one expects a conversation or honestly more than a two-word pleasantry. And the camera defaults to the back camera, so no one sees anyone's face. My last call: Me: "Hello?" Them: "Hi. Can you tell me which can is soup?" Me: "Can I see the other one?" Them: "This one?" Me: "That's cream of tomato." Them: "Thank you." Me: "You're welcome."
- ska 6y agoThis is a very cool service, I've been signed up for a while now. It does have a small usability problem, perhaps because of the balance of "volunteers" and people it is serving. You get a number of incomplete calls or unclear notifications, and because it doesn't happen often it's hard to remember how it should be responding.
- ajyey 6y agoI’ve only received a couple calls in the time I’ve had the app but my overall experience was great. Helped a guy cross a busy intersection and another woman pick out some low-fat milk. Feels good to help man.
- fastball 6y agoBusy intersection seems mildly dangerous given the possibility of lag.
- spoonjim 6y agoI would be terrified of getting the guy killed
- adkadskhj 6y agoYea, i'm with you. I worry about all the tiny little details and this type of app is wide open and my concern that i would get something wrong is near crippling my desire to help. It's definitely my own neurosis here, but my desire to help is proportional to my desire to not hurt them. I'd love to help them, but i really don't want to mess something up for them either.
- spoonjim 6y agoWell it’s entirely possible that they have to cross the street, so if nobody helps them on the app they just go ahead and pray for the best. But getting involved makes me feel responsible, not to mention the possible legal liability.
- ClawsOnPaws 6y agoIt's not like most of us are completely helpless when it comes to crossing streets. We know when it might be unsafe, and if a bus is approaching and you tell me to go, I wouldn't. But it might help a lot to actually reach the right street/find the second inaccessible traffic light/etc. You could also make sure that you describe the potential route to be taken, which might make it safer still. Sometimes a "A little left" or "You're turning onto another road" can be very helpful, which I assume was more or less the case. :)
- snuii 6y agoPeople who have used this app, which kind of situations have you helped with? I want to help but am a bit nervous
- miki123211 6y agoI was the one who needed help, not the one who helped, but my issue was some handwriting ion a piece of paper that OCR couldn't deal with. The handwriting wasn't in english, and Be My Eyes is the only service of this kind that lets you select a different language. I received help, and the process went pretty smoothly.
- ska 6y agoHow complicated is it to initiate a call? I've only seen the other side.
- miki123211 6y agoPretty easy. You open the app, click "call first available volunteer", and you're good to go. There's also a "specialized help" button, which lets you quickly connect to accessibility support hotlines for some companies, like Google and Microsoft for example.
- ska 6y agoHere are things I have helped with * find their friend in park when they got separated (mentioned elsewhere) * differentiate canned food when their system got messed up (e.g. canned corn vs canned beans, same size cans) * figure out which of two sweaters was the red one * reorganize paper money that had fallen out of pocket/wallet
- michaelmrose 6y agoI wonder if at least some of that might someday be done equally well by a computer which would be available 24/7
- jack_riminton 6y agoVery cool Is there one for deaf people? i.e. converse over video and text
- bluGill 6y agoI don't know of any apps, but 20 years ago at least there were state run services for this. You call a number and someone will translate between your voice call and the ttd that the deaf use. (20 years ago a friend of mine worked for such a service, we have both moved on but I assume the service still exists)
- wnissen 6y agoIt's a free government service in the US. 711 is the number for the relay service from TDD - voice. Unfortunately it is sometimes abused.
- gowld 6y agoMy understanding is that it's majority abuse -- people outside USA using it to call electronics stores to try to make fruadulent orders (to the point where stores refuse service to TDD users), and phone companies collecting huge fees for running the service.
- LeoPanthera 6y agoThere's a little-known feature of iOS called "sound recognition" that constantly listens and pops up an alert when it recognizes certain sounds that need attention, such as a crying baby, doorbell, or siren. https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/sound-recognition-iphf2dc33312/ios https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/sound-recognition-iph... I'm not deaf but I can imagine that being very useful.
- jack_riminton 6y agoWow that’s actually pretty cool. Would be useful for hearing people too if they’re wearing headphones
- 6y ago
- k__ 6y agoIt sounded like a good idea until I saw that it was synchronous and video based. Makes total sense, but I thought volunteering answering some questions about photos people upload there when I have some time to spare.
- ska 6y agoIt works pretty well anyway, they have some sort of request queue management so that if you don't pick up pretty quickly it will try others, and from the outside looks like they probably try multiple people anyway. So if you get a notification and you are available, great. Otherwise someone else will get it.
- michaelmrose 6y agoMost problems that people encounter are synchronous. I cannot even think of a single scenario where identifying things in a picture would be useful to anyone after the fact. It's not surprising that they don't offer a service that wouldn't be useful to anyone.
- miki123211 6y agoAnother similar service is Aira[1]. The main difference is that Aira is not free, but you're helped by professional agents, who had to undergo various background checks and sign airtight NDAs. They have a 5-minutes-per day free plan, and businesses can also offer free service if you're using Aira with one of their products. My biggest frustration with Aira is that you need to own a phone number in one of the supported countries, which is a pain to set up and maintain. All agents also have TeamViewer installed, so they can quickly and efficiently help with computer issues. I've been using it for over a year now (with the free plan), and I definitely recommend.
- saas_sam 6y agoIsn't every NDA basically the same? What makes theirs especially "airtight"?
- gknoy 6y agoMy guess is the money to pay lawyers to enforce the NDA in court. (If I make you sign the NDA, but can't sue you when you break it, it's useless.))
- miki123211 6y agoAirtight, as in, people routinely use this to interact with sensitive corporate data, probably including PII (but not sure), with full approval from their legal department. Aira signing agreements with companies to provide accommodations for employees is not unheard of. It basically provides blindness accommodations as a service. Edit: there's also a pretty rigorous screening / background checking process. As far as I remember, the number of people who actually manage to get through it is somewhere below 10%.
- darig 6y agoIt seems like the bigger issue is liability when you tell them to cross the road and didn't notice an approaching car that kills them.
- justaj 6y agoYou forgot the link: https://aira.io/ https://aira.io/
- ricardbejarano 6y agoThis is one of the most beautiful ways I've seen tech put to work. Thanks for being so kind, this is awesome!
- posharma 6y agoThere's also https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/ai/seeing-ai https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/ai/seeing-ai
- mgamache 6y agoI worked with Google Glass (Enterprise) in the past and think this might be a really good use case for Glass... Realtime streaming without using hands. Voice activation and a speaker in your ear all could be really helpful.
- bumbada 6y agoThis is like having a spy on the street 24/7, but instead of cameras above like in London, cameras everywhere sending data from all the world to the USA for being analyzed and recorded forever. For me this is dystopia. You can't get out of your house without being recorded all the time, just like in China.
- michaelmrose 6y agoThis is a really dark interpretation and I think doesn't fully consider the facts on the ground. Such cameras are liable to capture minutes per day of footage from a tiny minority of individuals conspicuously holding up their phones and talking to an agent. Statistically probably zero minutes of your life will be captured by parties using this annually while you are constantly captured on security cameras everywhere you go in public. Your concern is approximately like a gut shot individual worrying if they might or might not get a splinter.
- elil17 6y agoA dystopia where blind people (>4% of the population if you include all major visual impairments) occasionally livestream (but don't store) video in public places? There's plenty of dystopian things about our world but this is about 1000x less invasive than CCTV cameras.
- wizzwizz4 6y agoOkay – but imagine if the hardware's trusted. I think it's a good idea, if the glasses aren't controlled by a surveillance capitalism company.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- isoprophlex 6y agoIf volunteers also help out with crossing busy intersections... i hope they have smart and strong moderation etc. to keep dangerous trolls out! Heart warming idea nonetheless :)
- MattGaiser 6y agoI’m encouraged that trolls have not ruined this yet.
- 5evOX5hTZ9mYa9E 6y agoI had this on my phone for 10+ months and I never got a call. I also speak multiple languages, and still nothing...
- michaelmrose 6y agoThis might actually be of interest to the developers. Maybe there is some reason you never get picked. I worked with someone who couldn't log into any company systems for his first month because it didn't like his name.
- snoshy 6y agoIt's more just that they have a 16:1 ratio of volunteers to blind/low-vision people. Many others on this thread have reported the same. It's a great problem to have as a free service.
- breiti 6y agoI once helped some guy with his pin number via this app. It really is awesome. Have this app installed since 3 years
- mlang23 6y agoBe My Eyes is my personal favourite service in the 21st century. It has helped me in countless times since I use it. From identifying a dead mouse my cat apparently hunted to creating a makeshift talking LCD display by pointing your phone at it. There are OCR apps of course, but they dont always work in some situations. It is a total relief to have a pair of human eyes in your pocket available at every time of the day. Thanks Be My Eyes, you changed my life!
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- theartfuldodger 6y agoI have has this app installed for at least a year, but only received one call that ended up being a training/example call. It seems well made, just perhaps more volunteers than users
- staunch 6y agoYeah, this is such a cool thing. The kind of thing I remember talking with people about before smartphones made it actually possible. Lots of stuff like that is happening and it's exciting!
- codazoda 6y agoAn aside... In the early 2000's I created an app called ButtonWiz that made web buttons. I was in a funny mood and gave the buttons crazy descriptive names like "spicy fire red". I started to get lots of registrations on the new version and then I started to get positive feedback from users with vision impairments. Apparently, they liked selecting the buttons with my quirky names. It was a pretty cool niche to serve.
- shaunxcode 6y agoThis is really cool! I wonder if it works with the mic as well so you can be someones ears.
- jesterswilde 6y agoThere are some useful one off things here for sure. Personally, I always feel awkward asking for help from strangers, even if I have my stick out. For me, these sorts of things have never delivered on the hope. Rideshare apps are quite the disaster, and I tend to just not go places instead of using them. I know this off topic, but what I've found most helpful is good public transit, regular patterns I can grock, and of course friends (I fear getting hit every time I cross a road, unless I'm with someone). I tend to be more free and independent in places like Japan or China than the US (I only speak English, and am American) (I'm legally blind)
- dundercoder 6y agoI've never used Be My Eyes, but I have it installed, just in case I guess. I feel the opposite about ride share apps. I feel like I have some freedom again finally.
- SV_BubbleTime 6y agoI have not once considered the perspective of a blind person when it comes to rideshare. With the other commentor saying that he enjoys it, what is it you dislike? Off the top of my head I would imagine getting them to park or let you out at appropriate places may be one issue.
- jesterswilde 6y agoI've found that behavior varies and almost seems independent of me informing them I'm blind. -They will park far away or across the street and wait for me to come to them. But I have a hard time understanding that they are there or there for me. -They will ask me things like,"Is this the place." to which the only thing I can say is,"I have no idea." or lie and say,"Yes, this is fine." Then get out and try to understand where I am. I've actually ended up further away than I started before somehow. -I've had people be very short with me for my inability to locate them and leave (Or other forms of being upset with me for not being able to function in this relatively simple contract.) I also feel this kind of shit fairly intensely and it heavily dissuades me. I don't know if the tech will get there, but a self driving car would be a complete game changer.
- fullstop 6y agoI've been using this app (as a seeing person) for several years now and have received only two calls. It was pretty cool to be able to help people out.
- fullstop 6y agoAnother cool thing is that you can turn their phone's flashlight on and off. A lot of blind people don't bother turning lights on because it doesn't make a difference to them.
- Waterluvian 6y agoThis is cool. But I'll admit to the one reason I won't install it: live video chats mean I might get completely stuck on the phone with the nicest stranger who just wants to chat and that gives me tremendous anxiety. I can't be rude. I'd love an arms length version that pops up images or short video clips in "near" real time.
- ryankrage77 6y agoOn reddit there is a group of volunteers that describe images - /r/descriptionplease. Something like this, perhaps, with short video clips as you mentioned, would be a nice feature.
- runjake 6y agoWould love this for colorblind people too.
- purpleidea 6y agoI'm sitting at home unmotivated to do any serious work today, and I came across this and figured, why not, good deed time! ... Installed the add, had to signup and give out an email address (why?) and then I did the tutorial video... And they said because there are so many volunteers it might take a few weeks before you even handle one call. ... While I'd like to help, I'd much rather "sign-up" for a time, and then just handle say 30 min of straight calls. So I guess I won't be a big help here, but glad a lot of people are available for others. ... Why don't we have something similar for... (complete the list...)
- vfinn 6y agoThere should be app "be my brain" :).
- bigmattystyles 6y agoThis begs the question - can a seeing-eye dog be replaced by a wearable camera, an ear piece or tactile feedback and an AI? I assume the raw power needs make this not tenable at the moment, but this will hopefully be the future - short of the Geordi Laforge visor/ artificial eyeball scenario. (edit) saw the link to MS AI below. Cool stuff - the processing is done remotely, that's still awesome, my power needs comment was for local / low latency requirements.
- peterfield 6y agoI've been a member (helper) for at least one year. I received only one call in all this time - which (I believe) was helpful to the other person.
- learnandgrow 6y agoI love the concept behind Be My Eyes and have answered a few calls as a sighted person. I've always wanted to apply this short, synchronous (or not), crowd sourced community support to other areas of need. What are other problems that could be addressed with widespread community support via smartphones or computers that require minimal commitment from the helper like Be My Eyes?
- mkr-hn 6y agoBeta readers/listeners. Sometimes I just want to have someone take a look or listen at something I made to see if my familiarity with it obscures a glaring flaw. Getting people who say they want to to actually follow through is often a blocking struggle.
- learnandgrow 6y agoThis makes total sense. I've experienced the need for an impartial and non-invested yet thoughtful/knowledgable eye too. I was thinking more non-profit/greater good focused, but I like this and thank you for sharing!
- tdiff 6y agoI wasnt able to find on their site how they use all the produced user data (and users waive any rights for it, if I got the user agreement right). While I like the idea of the service, I think some transparency on how it uses generated content would be useful.
- 2dvisio 6y agoMy wife installed this app and waited so long to receive a call. She has now received a couple of calls and she was so happy her experience has certainly been great.