Assistive Technology & the Future with BeSpecular

Stephanie Cowper

You could be reading this blog post on your laptop, or through text-to-speech on your mobile phone - whichever way, we're happy you're reading! Modern technology has changed the way in which people communicate, work, and live. Assistive technology is a space in which we, BeSpecular, love to work.

Assistive technology products are designed to provide additional accessibility to people who have physical or cognitive difficulties, impairments, and disabilities. Examples of assistive technologies include: alternative keyboards, sip-and-puff systems, and electronic pointing devices. In the technology world of the visually impaired, Apple and its devices have been leading the pack.

The startup universe has kicked into action and now more than ever young tech entrepreneurs are supporting the cause to enable the world's visually impaired. Where in this universe does BeSpecular fit in?

We at BeSpecular have been incredibly agile in our product development, constantly going from dev to testing and back to dev to ensure that our mobile platform is sleek and easy to use. From the American Council of the Blind to the National Council of the Blind in South Africa, we've ensured that all t's are crossed and i's are dotted. The BeSpecular platform will equip visually impaired people (VIPs) around the world with the power of independence. Personalised questions and answers in a VIPâ€™s native language will be sent and received within seconds. Object recognition will lend a hand for those everyday scenarios. Customisable contact lists mean that VIPs can reach out to friends or a crowd. For extra convenience, VIPs will be able to upload photos directly from their phone's library. Plus there's no worrying over a blurry photo thanks to BeSpecular's autofocus.

We'd love for you to be part of the BeSpecular community! You can sign-up on this website: www.bespecular.com/signup.

You might also like

BeSpecular through the eyes of someone who's blind

This article is written by Chris Venter, one of BeSpecular's blind users. The views expressed below are solely his & we at BeSpecular are tremendously grateful for his contribution.

A day in the life of a world-class athlete

We are kicking off our Accessible Sports blog series with an interview with a world champion athlete. We asked her to tell us about a typical day in her life, who she looks up to, and if technology plays a part in her day. We hope you enjoy getting to know our incredible friend: Ilse Hayes.

What's your handicap?

The first golf club I ever held was at the age of 8. It seemed like an impossible task to ever be able to hit the ball as high and as far as all the older guys. Equipped with a sawn off 8 iron and a pink grip, my obsession began for chasing this tiny white ball around some of the most scenic places around the world.

4 radio interviews in 4 continents

The radio has been a fantastic channel for BeSpecular to get its voice heard around the world; you never know who might be listening to one of our interviews! Many of us in the visually impaired community enjoy listening to the radio and it's always great to find radio stations which cover topics particularly relevant to us. Since many of these radio stations are online, it enables just about anyone to listen irrespective of the country they're based in. Here is BeSpecular's journey over the airwaves and across 4 continents.

Share Your Vision with the BeSpecular App Release July 2016

The BeSpecular app will be released on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store on July 1st! Since January we’ve been conducting our private beta test with Sightlings and VIPs from around the world. It’s been an incredible 6 month journey of learning, growing and developing. The BeSpecular app is now ready to move into its public beta phase. We’d like to encourage everyone to download the BeSpecular app from July 1st and #ShareYourVision!