[corn-you-copia] Three Years for Be My Eyes App
- From: <hap@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <corn-you-copia@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 29 Jan 2018 19:37:32 -0600
*I use this app and find it quite helpful. The most recent use was a week
ago in my local Des Plaines Metra train station, where I was waiting for my
ride home. Gosh all mighty I found myself in need of a fattening snack from
the nearby chips and candy machine. By punching up the Be My Eyes app on my
iPhone 6, a gentleman in Mass. Used the forward camera in my phone to read
the names of the goodies; then he helped navigate me to the selection
buttons; then he watched as I retrieved my potato chips from the machines
bin. Well heres a good read of Be My Eyes third annual report I received
yesterday.*
This month at Be My Eyes
January 2018
Hi Hap,
Welcome to the January edition of the Be My Eyes newsletter.
2018 is upon us and weve got exciting things in store for the Be My Eyes
community. We want to thank you for warmly welcoming our Community Stories
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIcvZZGOkyE&list=PLeY7n8eI135A2n4d18Ntv1hNZ
b7FSbJIc> . We appreciate all your amazing responses to them, and look
forward to giving you even more insider stories from both users and
volunteers. January also marked a milestone: we are now home to 800,000
volunteers. In this edition of our newsletter we will reveal an exciting new
partnership and celebrate Be My Eyes 3-year-anniversary since the iOS
launch. Enjoy!
News & Updates
Be My Eyes joins forces with Moovit
<http://images.mxpnl.com/796533/1517242773516.972910.img_1.jpg>
At Be My Eyes we are pleased to announce our new cooperation with Moovit.
Were teaming up with Moovit
<http://company.moovitapp.com?utm_medium=pr&utm_campaign=pr_BeMyEyes_Webpage
to pursue one common goal: to make public transit more accessible for
blind and low vision transit users.
Public transit can impose a challenge for people who are blind or have low
vision and rely on public transit to get to work and travel independently.
Catching the right train, finding the bus stop or determining your departure
time is imperative to getting to your destination quickly and easily. Be My
Eyes goal is to make the world more accessible for people with blindness or
vision loss, including public transportation. With Be My Eyes, blind and low
vision users are connected to sighted volunteers with a tap of a button, who
are ready to help them navigate to work, find their way through a new
environment or choose the best transit route.
How Be My Eyes users have used Moovit for traveling with public
transportation
I used to have to ask someone to tell me what bus stop I was at or which
tram was coming, but now Moovit can help.
Peter, United States
Moovit helped me find the right train platform, and once it arrived I used
Be My Eyes to make my way on board.
Marco, Switzerland
About Moovit
<
http://images.mxpnl.com/796533/1517242809011.972910.img_5.jpg>
Moovit <
http://www.moovitapp.com> is the world's largest transit data and
analytics company and the number one transit app. Moovit simplifies urban
mobility all around the world; getting around town via transit easier and
more convenient.
Until Moovit, no public transport apps provided additional support for low
vision folks to improve their transit experience. Relying purely on driver
or station announcements wasnt a comprehensive solution. For the 253
million blind and low vision people in the world, traveling on public
transportation can be difficult without accessible infrastructure, but
accessible technology can help.
Moovit worked with Adi Kushnir, a blind a developer who provided his own
first-hand experience as a blind transit rider. Kushnir helped create an
accessible integration and ensure the app would be easy to use for all
visually impaired users.
Moovit has made every screen accessible with VoiceOver and Talkback enabled
on iOS and Android devices. With the accessible integration, low vision
users simply hold their finger on their phone screen to hear which button or
icon is beneath it, helping them to navigate more seamlessly through the app
and allowing them to plan trips on public transit with ease. With the Live
Directions feature, they get step-by-step GPS-style guidance for their
journey and even receive alerts when the bus is arriving or when theyve
reached their stop.
By combining information from public transit operators and authorities with
live information from the user community, Moovit offers travelers a
real-time picture, including the best route for their journey. Named Best
Local App by Google in 2016 and one of Apples Best Apps of 2017, Moovit
launched in 2012 and surpassed 100 million users in five years. The app is
available in 44 languages, in over 1,800 cities, and across 79 countries.
Blind and low vision Moovit users can now access Be My Eyes directly from
the Moovit app, to ensure a smooth journey with public transportation.
You can download Moovit in App Store
<
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/public-transit-app-moovit/id498477945?mt=8>
and Google Play
<
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tranzmate&hl=en> . You
can learn more about Moovit on www.moovitapp.com <
http://www.moovitapp.com>
.
Holman Prize 2018
<
http://images.mxpnl.com/796533/1517242800958.972910.img_3.jpg>
What do a blind beekeeper, kayaker, and chef have in common? Besides using
their levels of vision to be creative and inspire others, they are also all
winners of the first-ever Holman Prize for Blind Ambition
<
https://holman.lighthouse-sf.org/> , which was awarded in July 2017 by
LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired in San Francisco.
This month, the LightHouse opened applications for the Holman Prizes second
year, and will award the $25,000 prize to three more ambitious blind
individuals later this year. Any legally blind adult in the world can apply,
but there is one major requirement: you have to make a YouTube video. Learn
all the rules at the Holman Prize website
<
https://holman.lighthouse-sf.org/how-to-apply/> , and get your applications
in by February 28.
The Be My Eyes Community
Were celebrating our 3rd birthday!
<
http://images.mxpnl.com/796533/1517242782203.972910.img_2.jpg>
On January 15th, Be My Eyes celebrated the 3 years anniversary since the
release of the iOS app. In the time since, weve come a long way. We could
not have grown into a massive global community without your help and
support. Thanks to all of you, Be My Eyes has evolved from a small iOS app
to a daily helper on a global scale for people with blindness and vision
loss.
For me it is a true honour and also very amazing that 55,000 people who are
blind or have low vision have found trust in Be My Eyes, and on top of that
more than 800,000 wonderful people have decided to sign up to do
micro-volunteering in the Be My Eyes community. This gives us the ability to
connect people in 145 languages 24/7 - and the fact that all this have
happened in just three years is way more than I had ever dreamed of! Hans
Jørgen Wiberg, Be My Eyes founder
Countless inspiring, compelling and downright funny Be My Eyes moments have
taken place in the past three years, and we will foster all those to come.
Remember that we love hearing about your favorite Be My Eyes experiences and
hope you share your stories. You can make it happen by contacting us at
info@xxxxxxxxxxxx <
mailto:info@xxxxxxxxxxxx> .
Weve got a bunch of exciting things in stock for you so stay tuned!
Selected quotes from this month
As advanced as technology is, I think there are some things that technology
cant do. There are some things where the human brain totally rivals
technology, and thats the ability to reason ... this app puts us in touch
with the ability to problem solve. Terry, blind user from South Africa
Its hard to think that there are people in the world who are not so lucky
- I think humanity needs solidarity. We need to love and help other people.
Milena, volunteer from UK
The Be My Eyes app has changed my life in the way that now I really have
certainty, I have a security. Whenever I need sighted eyes, a seeing
assistant, I have the possibility to find that. Hans-Peter, blind user
from Switzerland
End Note
We sincerely hope youve enjoyed reading the January edition of our
newsletters. We always appreciate getting messages from the Be My Eyes
community and encourage you to send us an email at info@xxxxxxxxxxxx
<
mailto:info@xxxxxxxxxxxx> if you have any suggestions, feedback, or just
want to share your experience with us.
Until next time,
The Be My Eyes Team
Keep in touch, find us on:
<
https://www.facebook.com/bemyeyesapp> <
https://twitter.com/bemyeyes>
<
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPz1J3Vl6ZZ_eMG5TK3YFwQ>
<
https://www.instagram.com/bemyeyesapp/>
Be My Eyes Newsletter is sent to our users once a month.
This month issue is carefully curated by
<
https://www.linkedin.com/in/julia-rignot-937b74132> Julia Rignot,
<
https://www.linkedin.com/in/cecilie-skou-andersen/> Cecilie Skou Andersen.
Questions or concerns? <
http://bemyeyes.com/what-is-be-my-eyes/> Try our
FAQ or contact our <
mailto:info@xxxxxxxxxxxx> support team. this
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