Be My Eyes – App to help visually impaired people

The concept for Be My Eyes originated from heartfelt conversations with blind friends who relied on the FaceTime feature of their iPhones to seek guidance from sighted individuals. However, they often faced the challenge of ensuring their friends were available and willing to assist them at any given time.

Since its inception in 2015, Be My Eyes has garnered remarkable support, with over 6 million volunteers registering through the app to offer their services to blind users. The overwhelming response from these volunteers exemplifies the power of human connection and the willingness to lend a helping hand. Notably, the platform has also witnessed substantial participation from the blind and low-vision community, with approximately 500,000 individuals signing up to Be My Eyes. This staggering number showcases the vital role the app plays in empowering and enhancing the daily lives of visually impaired individuals.

Recognizing the potential for further innovation, Be My Eyes embarked on a journey to enhance their services by integrating cutting-edge technology. In early February 2023, the company started beta-testing a revolutionary feature backed by GPT technology, with a small group of employees. The test results were nothing short of extraordinary, surpassing all expectations. The overwhelmingly positive outcomes have paved the way for the imminent release of this groundbreaking feature to the wider user base within a matter of weeks.

In an exciting development since March 2023, Be My Eyes has introduced a groundbreaking addition to its volunteer network—the Virtual Volunteer tool, powered by ChatGPT4. Building upon the remarkable capabilities of the GPT-4 language model, Be My Eyes set out to create a sophisticated Virtual Volunteer™ that could emulate the context and understanding of a human volunteer. This state-of-the-art technology is equipped with a dynamic image-to-text generator, enabling it to analyze visual inputs and provide instantaneous and comprehensive assistance.

With the integration of the Virtual Volunteer feature into the existing Be My Eyes app, users can now seamlessly submit images to an AI-powered assistant. The Virtual Volunteer responds promptly, offering detailed descriptions and answering any questions related to the images. This transformative functionality provides blind individuals with an unprecedented level of visual assistance for an extensive array of tasks, contributing to their independence and confidence in navigating the world around them.

Adapted from:
https://openai.com/customer-stories/be-my-eyes
http://www.bemyeyes.org/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5tgRRJfRBU