An interesting app from Singapore now promises to help blind persons check their bills, count change or walk down an alley by placing a video call to a guide who can talk them through the process.
Called Lend An Eye, the smartphone app is activated by voice.
It calls up a pre-selected group of sighted guides who can assist by looking at the live video feed and informing the visually handicapped user, say, of the bills before him, or an obstacle in the path via a connected earpiece. An embedded map helps the guide plan a route better as well.
With voice assistance, the user can go about more daily chores, such as choosing the right toothpaste or finding the right change at a grocery store.
The app is available on Android phones on April 22, and an iPhone version is expected next month. It requires a wireless data connection.
Ultimately, the idea is to assist the visually handicapped lead more independent lives, said communications agency Grey Group, which developed the app in a month.
It believes the app can help the more than 3,000 people in Singapore who are visually impaired or with low vision.
Lend An Eye has been tested at a call centre agency, Eureka Call Centre Systems, which employs persons with disabilities. Some users appear to be happy with it, according to testimonials shared with the media this week.
Listen to a testimonial by a user, Carolyn Toh, here. She has been using the app to have her phone bills read to her.
