5 ms·

I’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 pic

by ajyey 6y ago

I’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 ago
Busy intersection seems mildly dangerous given the possibility of lag.
- spoonjim 6y ago
  I would be terrified of getting the guy killed
  - adkadskhj 6y ago
    Yea, 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 ago
      Well 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 ago
        It'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. :)
  - blago 6y ago
    I've had Be My Eyes installed on my phone for years but I never had the courage to answer a call. Part of it is that English is my second language, but fear of exposing someone to danger was even bigger. This situation sounds like the sum of all fears.
- bluGill 6y ago
  2 seconds lag is pretty long, and easy to notice. Nobody can cross the street in 2 seconds. So if there isn't enough margin of safety to be sure it is safe with the lag, then there wasn't enough without it too. Most likely the help was just help find the button and then tell the blind person when the walk light lit up. Most busy intersections have a light for pedestrians, but many do not have any help for the blind. This is very much region specific - when I was in Germany all lights had a beep (in that one city). I've never heard such beeps elsewhere, but things can and do change faster than I travel to other cities.
  - RealStickman_ 6y ago
    In Switzerland the beeping lights exist as well. Mostly in city centres though and not at the edges of a city or in smaller towns.
  - deepinthewoods 6y ago
    Lights in the UK have a small cone on the bottom of the button box that turns when the light is green https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-ouch-22706881 https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-ouch-22706881
    - faeyanpiraat 6y ago
      “I was waiting at the pedestrian crossing, holding onto the small metal cone, when someone grabbed my hand, like when you grab a small metal cone. It turned out..” This could become some kind of romantic movie.
    - iam-TJ 6y ago
      We're also currently trialling Bluetooth add-on transceivers to the cone functionality to make crossing even easier. One of the problems of the cones is that once the cone turns you often need to reposition yourself in the centre of the entry to the crossing before setting off (in order not to stray into traffic or bump into barriers). With the prototype Bluetooth beacon your device can receive the signal when it is safe to cross whilst you're stood in the centre of the entry.
  - 6y ago

by ajyey 6y ago

fastball 6y ago

Busy intersection seems mildly dangerous given the possibility of lag.

spoonjim 6y ago
I would be terrified of getting the guy killed
- adkadskhj 6y ago
  Yea, 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 ago
    Well 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 ago
      It'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. :)
- blago 6y ago
  I've had Be My Eyes installed on my phone for years but I never had the courage to answer a call. Part of it is that English is my second language, but fear of exposing someone to danger was even bigger. This situation sounds like the sum of all fears.
bluGill 6y ago
2 seconds lag is pretty long, and easy to notice. Nobody can cross the street in 2 seconds. So if there isn't enough margin of safety to be sure it is safe with the lag, then there wasn't enough without it too. Most likely the help was just help find the button and then tell the blind person when the walk light lit up. Most busy intersections have a light for pedestrians, but many do not have any help for the blind. This is very much region specific - when I was in Germany all lights had a beep (in that one city). I've never heard such beeps elsewhere, but things can and do change faster than I travel to other cities.
- RealStickman_ 6y ago
  In Switzerland the beeping lights exist as well. Mostly in city centres though and not at the edges of a city or in smaller towns.
- deepinthewoods 6y ago
  Lights in the UK have a small cone on the bottom of the button box that turns when the light is green https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-ouch-22706881 https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-ouch-22706881
  - faeyanpiraat 6y ago
    “I was waiting at the pedestrian crossing, holding onto the small metal cone, when someone grabbed my hand, like when you grab a small metal cone. It turned out..” This could become some kind of romantic movie.
  - iam-TJ 6y ago
    We're also currently trialling Bluetooth add-on transceivers to the cone functionality to make crossing even easier. One of the problems of the cones is that once the cone turns you often need to reposition yourself in the centre of the entry to the crossing before setting off (in order not to stray into traffic or bump into barriers). With the prototype Bluetooth beacon your device can receive the signal when it is safe to cross whilst you're stood in the centre of the entry.
- 6y ago