[Colorado-Talk] The OKO App for the iPhone

[Curtis Chong]

Greetings everyone:

As Dale Holden said in his email about the September 23 meeting of the Aurora Chapter, Seth Wilson will be speaking to us about an app called OKO (spelled O K O). You can read about the app and try it for yourself if you have an iPhone. Here is the link: https://www.ayes.ai/. Essentially, OKO is a way to use your iPhone’s rear camera to detect the state of the traffic signal at a specific crossing. Briefly, here is how the OKO app is described.

“Effortlessly navigate intersections using the OKO App for the blind. Simply point your phone's back camera towards the desired crossing, and the app will instantly detect the pedestrian signal.”

Having tried the OKO app at a couple of signalized intersections, I can tell you that OKO does not eliminate the need for the blind traveler to listen to traffic sounds to determine where the cars are going. In one of my tests, the app indicated that the walk signal was on, but it was not on, unfortunately, for the street that I was trying to cross. The sounds of the moving cars made it abundantly clear that it would not be safe for me to start walking.

I encourage anyone with an iPhone to give the OKO app and try--especially since Seth Williams will be talking about it at our September 23 meeting.

Kind regards,

Curtis Chong