Blind and Visually Impaired Community
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Thoughts on an app idea where sighted volunteers can describe images/ videos for visually impaired users to increase social media accessibility? (Inspired by Be My Eyes) (self.Blind)
submitted by Ten086
Hi everyone! I'm a freshman in college studying computer science, and I'm interested in developing assistive technology.
I was hoping to ask a few questions about an app idea, as described in the title. The idea is that visually impaired users would be able to post links to images or videos and request for sighted volunteers to describe them as needed. This was inspired by the existing app Be My Eyes as well as seeing users on Reddit and Tumblr describe images in hopes of increasing accessibility to social media for blind and visually impaired users. I hope that it would especially increase access to more obscure posts like art from small creators or posts without many upvotes, because users would be able to personally request specific posts and images that they want to know more about.
Although not relevant to this sub, I'd hope to expand it to hearing impaired users as well, who would be able to request captions/transcripts for podcasts/videos.
I've had this idea for a while but I wasn't sure if it actually fulfills a need, so I wanted to reach out to this community. I'd really appreciate any feedback on whether this would be useful or not, and I'd love suggestions for different features or ideas! Thanks!
I was hoping to ask a few questions about an app idea, as described in the title. The idea is that visually impaired users would be able to post links to images or videos and request for sighted volunteers to describe them as needed. This was inspired by the existing app Be My Eyes as well as seeing users on Reddit and Tumblr describe images in hopes of increasing accessibility to social media for blind and visually impaired users. I hope that it would especially increase access to more obscure posts like art from small creators or posts without many upvotes, because users would be able to personally request specific posts and images that they want to know more about.
Although not relevant to this sub, I'd hope to expand it to hearing impaired users as well, who would be able to request captions/transcripts for podcasts/videos.
I've had this idea for a while but I wasn't sure if it actually fulfills a need, so I wanted to reach out to this community. I'd really appreciate any feedback on whether this would be useful or not, and I'd love suggestions for different features or ideas! Thanks!
theorymaster 5 points 3y ago
Aira has professional interpreters giving free descriptions for up to 5 minutes of video calls. Hence too crowded a space to make a new app.
Ten086 [OP] 1 points 3y ago
Thank you for the info! I guess my idea would be similar to this and Be My Eyes, but wouldn't be live, which has both pros (helpful for longer tasks maybe?) and cons (not immediate help, not as easy to communicate quickly).
MakihikiMalahini-who 4 points 3y ago
IIRC there is an app called BeSpecular that does that already.
Ten086 [OP] 1 points 3y ago
Thank you for the info, I'm glad this exists! I guess my idea would be very similar but targeted more specifically toward social media posts, but it looks like users can do that using this app too.
CloudsOfMagellan 3 points 3y ago
A reddit bot that posts to the transcribers subreddit when someone comments a trigger would be good
Then have the bot notify who ever commented
Then have the bot notify who ever commented
Ten086 [OP] 2 points 3y ago
That's a neat idea, thanks! Any idea if a subreddit of volunteer transcribers exists already?
CloudsOfMagellan 1 points 3y ago
transcribersofreddit
Looks like my suggestion would just be a modification on what they've already got
Looks like my suggestion would just be a modification on what they've already got
ItsMadameSecretary 1 points 3y ago
I think with a bit of AI & image recognition, you could get close to a program that could describe aloud an image without needing a human interface to interpret. Kinda like how you can “search for similar images” on Google etc or how Facebook / iPhoto use AI to recognize people’s faces. If I’m saying this it’s probably exists?
However!!! I work for a nonprofit that develops & distributes affordable assistive products & technology. I’d be happy to forward your idea to some of our volunteer software developers to see if they can help you get started in anyway.
However!!! I work for a nonprofit that develops & distributes affordable assistive products & technology. I’d be happy to forward your idea to some of our volunteer software developers to see if they can help you get started in anyway.
Ten086 [OP] 2 points 3y ago
Thanks for the info! I've heard of computer vision research being done for this purpose, but I think it's still at a preliminary stage and might be difficult to apply to artwork or videos?
Some of the students at Cornell Tech's Se(3) computer vision group are doing something similar if you're interested! I do think the research is really fascinating and would love to get involved, but unfortunately I'm pretty new to CS and don't have much knowledge about AI/computer vision/machine learning...
Also, I'd love to learn more about the nonprofit!! Could I PM you?
Some of the students at Cornell Tech's Se(3) computer vision group are doing something similar if you're interested! I do think the research is really fascinating and would love to get involved, but unfortunately I'm pretty new to CS and don't have much knowledge about AI/computer vision/machine learning...
Also, I'd love to learn more about the nonprofit!! Could I PM you?
ItsMadameSecretary 1 points 3y ago
Yes PM me! I’d love to help on any way I can! Super interested in learning more about what’s going on at Cornell!
BlueRock956 1 points 3y ago
What function would this app offer that other apps mentioned in this thread are not offering already?
Ten086 [OP] 1 points 3y ago
Thanks for the question! I haven't actually heard of the other apps mentioned, because this was just an idea for a personal project so I didn't really do "competitor research" into existing apps. I've replied to a few of the comments, but I'd definitely have to look into those apps to see if I have any new ideas. Thanks!
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