Be My Eyes - The mobile platform that allows sighted people to lend their eyes to the blind and visually impaired

Project Information

BEMYEYES

Grant agreement ID: 817064

DOI

10.3030/817064

Project closed

EC signature date 21 May 2018

Start date 1 May 2018

End date 31 August 2018

Funded under

• INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Innovation In SMEs

Total cost

€ 71 429,00

EU contribution

€ 50 000,00

Coordinated by

BE MY EYES APS
Denmark

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - BEMYEYES (Be My Eyes - The mobile platform that allows sighted people to lend their eyes to the blind and visually impaired)

Reporting period: 2018-05-01 to 2018-08-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The blind and visually impaired buy goods and services from the very same companies everyone else does, but most of these companies do not offer visually-adapted customer assistance meaning they need to rely on family, friends and neighbours for help when it is needed. With an estimated 253 million visually impaired persons globally and 25 million in the EU alone this means a significant proportion of consumers do not have suitable access to the customer support services provided by businesses and institutions. The objective of our project was to evaluate the technical, commercial and financial feasibility of developing a Be My Eyes product to bridge this gap.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

Over the last four months we have assessed the technical and commercial viability of Be Me Eyes to confirm the feasibility of our project. We have performed a detailed market analysis, verifying the commercial potential to support our go-to-market activities. We have undertaken a global Freedom-To-Operate analysis and on the technical side, we have continued testing our product through commercial partners. We have developed an execution plan for the ongoing development, including a detailed business plan and a financial plan and projections based on the marketing and price policy.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The development of a company focused on Be My Eyes help would have significant implications for society and the accessibility agenda. By match-making subscribed companies with the Be My Eyes user base we have the potential to bring truly accessible customer support to the visually impaired and blind community allowing them to tackle problems directly with the companies from whom they are buying. This creates a more equal society and gives a valuable voice to the visually impaired community, who have valid and interesting feedback on products and services. In turn this contributes to supporting the CSR and accessibility agenda of companies and enhances their brand value.

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