25
March
2015
Be My Eyes app
helps blind people “see”
Shake2Safety,
Emergency Alert
The “Be My Eyes” app lets sighted peo-
ple lend a hand or lend their eyes in this
case to the visually impaired. The app
connects blind people to others who
can help them in simple everyday tasks
through using live video.
The Be My Eyes app allows you to sign
up as a blind person or a person with
sight to determine if you are seeking or
offering help.
If a user signs up as a volunteer, any
registered blind person can seek help, if
needed, so that the app searches its di-
rectory for anyone able to help.
Requests for help can be as simple as
a blind person asking a volunteer about
milk expiration date or reading road signs
in an unfamiliar area.
Through the app, volunteers use their
“eyesight” through the blind person’s
phone camera to tell the latter about what
they see in live video chats.
The Be My Eyes app was developed by
Hans Jørgen Wiberg from Denemark,
who is visually impaired himself. Hans,
who is a craftsman, sought Robocat’s
help to make the app idea a reality.
The Shake2Safety free app is an
excellent tool through which one
can send an SMS or make a call
automatically in case of emergen-
cy.
After activating the app, users
select preferred method to be fol-
lowed in case of emergency. You
can choose Send SMS/Text mes-
sage, Call or both options. The
next step is to choose a number to
set your emergency contact.
Finally, in case of emergency, us-
ers shake the device for a certain
period after which the app sends
a message to the selected emer-
gency contact with the user’s cur-
rent location.
