EVERYDAY challenges like checking the expiry date on milk or reading a bill can be incredibly difficult for blind people.
However, a new app from a Danish design team is hoping to change this. BeMyEyes connects blind people with sighted volunteers through a live video feed so they can read or look at what the blind person cannot see and help them solve the problem.
Be My Eyes takes advantage of an iPhone feature called VoiceOver.
This lets people who are completely blind use the device using synthetic speech and a touch-based interface.
When someone needs help a number of volunteers are notified. There's no obligation to answer the call and if it is rejected then more volunteers will be notified until a match is found.
To ask for help, a blind person opens the Be My Eyes app and requests assistance from a sighted user.
This can be anything from knowing the expiry date on the milk, to navigating new surroundings.
The volunteer helper gets a notification for help, and once it accepts the request, a live video connection opens.
Using the live video, the volunteer can see whatever is in front of the blind person using the phone's built-in camera.
They can then help the blind person answer their question.
At the end of each session, the app lets both users rate the call, or report misuse. Be My Eyes said that anyone who misuses the system will be banned from the network.
The app is currently only available for people using an iPhone 4S or above, running iOS 7.
An Android app is currently in development.
