Much of the way we perceive and understand the world is through our eyes. In fact, in one study, 88 percent of participants ranked vision as their most valued sense. For the at least 2.2 billion people around the world who have a near or distance vision impairment, accessing the world and getting information often means being dependent on people with better eyesight. That is why Darwin Belt and Armand Fisher created WayAround — to provide better information about the world, non-visually.
Making the Visual World Accessible
WayAround is a patented, first-of-it-kind smart assistant. It offers better information, faster for people who are blind or have low vision.
How? Through accessible labels. All you need is the WayAround free mobile app for iOS or Android and some smart WayTags.
WayTags are stickers, buttons, magnets and clips. They attach securely to anything that’s inside or outside, wet or dry, hot or cold. No matter the style, the tags work the same. Add the WayTags to things around your house, your clothes, your medications — anything. Use them to organize information. Tag specialty items.
Use any style of tag in any order. There’s no limit to the number of tags you can use!
WayAround Tags Your Things
Once you have things tagged, start identifying them. Use the free mobile app to identify items quickly using just your smartphone. And it doesn’t have to be just one- or two-word descriptions. You can put whatever text you want in the description field. That is what you will hear with VoiceOver or TalkBack.
Then, tap your phone to the WayTag to read or write information. That information transfers in a split second though radio waves, so you don’t have to use your camera.
Plus, you can add optional details — like washing instructions, dates and hyperlinks.
Label Your Way to Independence
There are several ways to get the information you need on your WayTags:
Ask a friend or family member. This will be the last time you have to ask a sighted friend or family member “What’s this?” Make it a project to label as much as you can. Once something is tagged and labeled, it becomes accessible forever through the WayAround app.
Use an Aira agent. Aira agents provide visual descriptions of any item or location, using the camera on a person’s smart device. Agents will describe anything and can even email the description to you.
Copy and paste. Use copy and paste from anything online like websites or emails. Add that information to your WayTags. You can add the URL as a reference as well.
Use other accessible apps. Some apps scan barcodes. Some use artificial intelligence. And some connect you with a sighted person. Use them all to get the information you need for your WayTags, and then you’ll never have to use them again!
WayAround’s simple tag-and-scan approach lets you quickly and easily identify things around you. It also provides extra details, like how something works or when it expires. The result? Doing more of the things you want, with more confidence and more independence.
Meet WayAround in this video:
