AI Guides Future for the Blind

Typically, if I needed help with something visual like reading instructions on a box and I’m the only one home, I would FaceTime a family member for help. If no one I know is available, I use Be My Eyes. It’s a free iOS app, and it’s very easy to use. There is a button that says, “Call a Sighted Volunteer,” and when someone answers, they can help you with anything visual you may need. I’ve pointed the camera inside my fridge and asked where certain things are, I’ve asked them to help me find a dongle I dropped on the carpet, and I’ve asked them to read me the instructions on how to cook an oatmeal packet. It’s essentially a FaceTime call with someone who is willingly taking time out of their day to help people who have low vision, or are blind, like me.

Within the last two months, I’ve seen quite a few of my blind friends posting about this new feature on Be My Eyes called Be My AI. The Beta testing for BE MY AI expanded on August 14, so everyone can join the wait list and get approved to test it. Be My Eyes doesn’t have an official release date for Be My AI yet, but they plan to start beta testing it on Android devices as well later this year. It took me about a week to get approved, but once I did I got an email from Be My Eyes letting me know I have access to Be My AI.

There are two ways you can use Be My AI. You can go into your camera, select a photo you’d like described, push share, and scroll all the way down until you hear “Describe with Be My Eyes” and double tap. The Be my AI screen will open and it will say, “Be My AI is writing a message”. When it’s done processing, the app will make the noise an iPhone makes when someone sends you a text message and give you an extremely detailed description of your photo. If you swipe to the right past the description, there’s a text field where you can ask additional questions, or correct something in the description.

The second way to use Be My AI is to open the Be My Eyes app, select the Be My AI tab at the bottom, and it will bring up a take picture button. After you take the picture, it will let you know Be My AI is processing the image and play a little tune until it’s done. It will automatically read you the description just like before, but let’s say it told you the picture is blurry, or it can’t see a specific part of the image. To the right of the description, there is a take picture button so you can take an additional picture, as well as an ask more button where you can ask details about your picture. If you double tap on the ask more button, it will bring up three options: call a volunteer, add picture, and a message text field. That way if you feel like Be My AI isn’t helping you the way you want, you can still call a sighted volunteer.

Here’s just one example of what Be My AI can do. I sent it a picture from my camera roll of my brother and I at Comicon taking a picture with someone dressed as Miles Morales’ Spider-Man. The description is as follows. “The picture shows three people posing for a photo in what appears to be a convention hall. On the left is a young man with curly hair, wearing a baseball jersey with the word “Justice” on it, black shorts, and white sneakers. He is holding a black shopping bag and making a hand gesture as if reaching out to the camera. In the middle is someone dressed as Spider-Man, in a full costume with the iconic red and black suit and mask. On the right is a young woman with a big smile, wearing a purple t-shirt with some graphic design, blue denim shorts, white sneakers, and a black fanny pack. She is also making a hand gesture similar to the young man. In the background, there are other people walking around, some booths, and a Chick-Fil-A stand. The atmosphere seems lively and fun.”

I went to the text field and typed, “Green Goblin is on the young woman’s shirt.” Be My AI responded with, “I apologize for the oversight. The young woman’s purple t-shirt actually has a graphic design of Green Goblin, a character from the Spider-Man series. Thank you for pointing that out.”

As you can see it’s not perfect, but I think it’s really good for still being in its beta phase. You do have to be careful because like with any AI, if your picture isn’t clear it will assume what it is, making you think you took a good picture. That’s happened to me quite a few times, but it can only get better from here right? Be My AI is the best picture-describing app I’ve used so far, and I hope all this information will be useful to anyone who wants to use it.

Learn more about “Be My Eyes” and download the app HERE

Using an Android Device and want to try out “Be My AI?” Sign up for the Beta Test

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