Hi,
I cannot tell you how many times I've used Aira and team viewer when
updating my email addresses on inaccessible sites and the like. It's a
wonder they're not like you again really (laughs)?. I had the Horizon
glasses for a while too but found that I didn't use them enough to
justify their cost so I returned them still I'm glad they're there for
those who can use them more often than I did.
And I hope people will stop jumping to conclusions of doom since they
were acquired by an investment company. It doesn't necessarily mean the
sky is falling rather maybe it means a fresh infusion of potential funds
to keep it nice and solvent for a good long while to come.
Take good care.
Robin
On 2/23/2020 12:38 AM, Merv Keck wrote:
I use AIRA as well. I bought the Horizon kit and almost returned it because I had not used it after paying on it for several months. Then I suddenly began finding uses for it as well. so I’m glad I have both my iPhone app as well as the glasses when needed.
I also use Team viewer at least once a month with AIRA.
Merv
*From:* blind-philly-comp-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <blind-philly-comp-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> *On Behalf Of *David Goldfield
*Sent:* Sunday, February 23, 2020 12:29 AM
*To:* blind-philly-comp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
*Subject:* [blind-philly-comp] Re: Be My Eyes Raises $2.8M in Funding for App to Support Blind and Visually Impaired - InvisionMag
Hi, Robin. I also use AIRA for a lot of tasks. I've used it at home, at work and for navigating airports. My wife actually suggested doing some AIRA demos for a future meeting and I'm curious to know if this is of interest to any of you.
David Goldfield,
Blindness Assistive Technology Specialist
JAWS Certified, 2019
WWW.DavidGoldfield.org <http://WWW.DavidGoldfield.org>
On 2/22/2020 8:36 PM, Robin Frost wrote:
Hi,
I've never used Be My Eyes yet but have to admit I use Aira more
often now than I ever thought I would when I first joined last
year. It has become an invaluable resource to me and I definitely
feel like I get my money's worth out of it but also appreciate the
free access offers such as those from Vispero in conjunction with JFW.
Robin
On 2/22/2020 7:02 PM, David Goldfield wrote:
I'm very glad that we have services such as Be My Eyes as well
as AIRA. I'm wondering if any of you have made use of either
of these services and how they've been able to help you. While
I do tend to prefer AIRA I've used Be My Eyes for simple
tasks, such as identifying a bottle of medicine late at night
when my wife was sleeping as well as a few other similar
tasks. I will say that I used the specialized help feature to
contact Google support to help resolve an issue I was having
with Google Chrome and it was one of the worst tech support
calls I've had to make in quite some time. I did speak to a
representative from Be My Eyes about it and I'm hopeful that
my experience is an exception and not the norm.
David Goldfield,
Blindness Assistive Technology Specialist
JAWS Certified, 2019
WWW.DavidGoldfield.org <http://WWW.DavidGoldfield.org>
On 2/22/2020 1:13 AM, David Goldfield wrote:
"google accessibility" - Google News - Wednesday, February
19, 2020 at 1:37 PM
Be My Eyes Raises $2.8M in Funding for App to Support
Blind and Visually Impaired - InvisionMag
SAN FRANCISCO — Be My Eyes, the mobile app that allows
anyone to assist visually impaired people through live
video calls, has raised $2.8 million in funding. The
investment allows the company to further develop its
“purpose and profit” business model while keeping the
visual support service free and unlimited for all visually
impaired users, according to a press release.
The Series A round, led by Cultivation Capital, also
welcomed new board members Paul Weber (Cultivation
Capital) and Michael Buckley (angel investor and former
vice president of global communications at Facebook). Be
My Eyes has previously been backed by angels and
investment funding from the likes of Singularity
University, the founders of Zendesk and the LightHouse for
the Blind and Visually Impaired in San Francisco.
Be My Eyes solves a simple problem for users: It calls up
a real person, on demand, to describe what’s in front of a
blind user’s camera. Initially supported entirely by
volunteers, Be My Eyes recently announced that it would
begin partnering with companies to provide expert-level
support through a new feature in the app (Specialized Help
<https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bemyeyes.com%2Fspecialized-help&esheet=52174404&newsitemid=20200218005401&lan=en-US&anchor=Specialized+Help&index=1&md5=f397f2893decdc97a16edc913ad762b7>).
Microsoft signed on as Be My Eyes’ first video support
partner in 2018, followed by Google, Lloyds Banking Group,
and Procter & Gamble, who now all provide video customer
support to the BME community, which spans more than 175
countries. Companies can provide Specialized Help globally
or by region, and support services are free to Be My Eyes
users.
“In call centers around the world, we’ve seen the Be My
Eyes software greatly reduce ticket handling times and
increase satisfaction rates, from both support agents and
blind or low vision callers,” says Alexander Hauerslev
Jensen, chief commercial officer at Be My Eyes. “What’s
more, each call that a company receives brings attention
to parts of the product or service that can be designed
more inclusively.”
Kyndra LoCoco, partner and programs manager at Google
Accessibility, added, “The Google Disability Support team
is thrilled to be building a more accessible support
experience through the Be My Eyes app. It’s our hope that
others join us on this journey.”
Advertisement
With a community of users that has doubled in size each
year since 2015, Be My Eyes’ “micro-volunteering” platform
“has become beloved amongst blind and sighted users
alike,” according to the release.
“Fueled by inspiring stories and viral social media posts
of strangers connecting across oceans to help one another,
the small startup has amassed what amounts to the world’s
largest global community of visually impaired people
(almost 200,000), and a volunteer community many times
that size (more than 3.5M).”
“Be My Eyes is a great example of how technology can help
bring communities together and empower people who are
blind or with low vision,” says Neil Barnett, director of
inclusive hiring and accessibility at Microsoft. “By
working together with Be My Eyes, their incredible sighted
volunteers, and the growing community of organizations
participating in the Specialized Help program, we can help
more people around the world live independent lives. We
are honored to be part of this vibrant community and
provide support for all of their customers through our
Disability Answer Desk services.”
“As we grow and age, we all need help seeing at some
point,” says Be My Eyes CEO Christian Erfurt, who
co-founded the company with a legally blind craftsman
named Hans Jørgen Wiberg in 2014. “It’s been a pleasure to
see that not only do people want to give their time to
support this large population – but companies want to make
their customer service offerings more accessible. For
them, we’ve built a simple but beautiful tool.”
Erfurt says the corporate partnership business model was
conceived so that Be My Eyes will never have to charge
blind users for the service. “We believe that access to
sight is a human right, and you don’t charge people for that.”
Watch a video about the service:
Advertisement
[embedded content]
https://invisionmag.com/be-my-eyes-raises-2-8m-in-funding-for-app-to-support-blind-and-visually-impaired/
David Goldfield
Assistive Technology Specialist
Feel free to visit my Web site
WWW.DavidGoldfield.info <http://WWW.DavidGoldfield.info>
