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There’s so much good in this app that it’s hard to know where to start. Be My Eyes connects blind people who need assistance with sighted volunteers who want to help out via a direct video connection. Blind people get help navigating the world around them, sighted people get a helper’s high, and technology is used for a perfectly positive purpose.
Currently available for iPhone and coming soon for Android, the app can be used in a variety of situations - for example a blind person might need help checking the expiration date on a milk carton, or making their way around new surroundings. They enter a request for assistance and the volunteer gets a notification that the blind person could use some help. In an easy and informal interaction, the blind person films what they need assistance with, and the helper describes what they see - and together they work to solve the problem.
There are currently over 90,000 sighted volunteers active on Be My Eyes, and some 7,000 blind people using the app. On top of the joy of lending a hand to a stranger in need, the system is gamified, so volunteers earn points and advance levels - while making a real difference in people’s lives.
See the wonder of Be My Eyes in action in this short video:
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