‘Be My Eyes’ is compelling solution for anyone with vision loss

Hello Readers!

Charles Meyers

Thank you for the wonderful feedback on the September article about vision loss. I’ve heard from so many of you — your calls and messages mean a lot. In response to your interest, we’ll be sharing a short series of articles about technology tools that can make life easier for people who are blind or have low vision.

Each column will introduce an app commonly used in the blind and low-vision community. These tools can help with everyday tasks, increase independence, and build confidence with technology. I’ll be focusing on apps available for iPhones and iPads, since Apple’s accessibility features currently far outweigh their Android or Google counterparts.

The first app we will be discussing is called Be My Eyes. It is a wonderful app that allows a person who has an iPhone or iPad to take a picture of something and call a volunteer or someone they trust in their phone book to help them identify what it is that they are looking at. This is a free service. All of the folks on the other line are volunteers who take their time to support people in the blind community this way.

The app is set up so that you can even use Siri, Apple’s virtual assistant that responds to voice commands, with it. You can say, “Hey Siri, call a volunteer with Be My Eyes” and it will call a volunteer to assist you.

You can also make it so that people you trust who are outside of the volunteer network can be called. It even has a Be My AI button, which allows you to use the AI platform of Be My Eyes to identify what you’re looking at without the need for another person.

Be My AI will speak to you about what your camera is pointing at so that you can get constant feedback! It can tell you what type of money is in front of you, even telling you what denomination of bill is on the table in front of you.

Being able to use this application can help people bridge the gap between their vision issues and interacting and completing activities that they could do before their vision decreased. This application is trusted in the blind and visually impaired community and is an invaluable source of assistance for people who are trying to find workarounds.

While it might seem daunting to use this new technology, don’t worry. Like any tool, the more you practice, the easier it becomes. And there are people who can help you navigate the app and how it works. In the app itself, there are volunteers who can help explain to you what it is that you are using. And I, as well, provide training on the different apps that this series will focus on.

I hope that you are all having a wonderful Fall as we begin to get into the chilly months and that you stay warm and healthy as the days grow short and the nights become long.

Stay tuned for our next installment, where I’ll explore the Magnifier app and how it can help people with usable vision make the most of what they see.

Charles Meyers is an assistive technology trainer for the Massachusetts Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired. He works with older adults in greater New Bedford to help them regain independence through technology and adaptive strategies.