[NAGDU] Aira, or Be My Eyes

mike at michaelhingson.com mike at michaelhingson.com
Fri Feb 8 21:10:47 UTC 2019


I am sure you have had different people describe things to you with some
people doing a better job, in your opinion, than others. Be My Eyes takes on
all volunteers which means that you really do not know what level of quality
you will get from person to person.

Aira agents go through significant testing before being hired and then they
go through training before they are fully released to provide visual
information to blind people.

Also, there is a great deal of infrastructure and support to aid Aira agents
in doing their jobs. For example, if you travel through an airport with
Aira, the agent will, when you first connect, pull up a map of the airport
where you are located. There is no better illustration of the value of this
than the story Greg Stilson tells here,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQX_msSbpNk&t=2s. 

I hope this helps. 


Best Regards,


Michael Hingson

-----Original Message-----
From: NAGDU <nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Star Gazer via NAGDU
Sent: Friday, February 8, 2019 12:53 PM
To: 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Star Gazer <pickrellrebecca at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [NAGDU] Aira, or Be My Eyes

			I really would like to know, how does training
impact how an IRA agent would perform differently than a Be My Eyes person?
Aside from the fact that IRA agents are paid, explain to me a scenario why
the training would be useful, as opposed to the volunteer option? 
I am sorry, I'm not trying to be unkind, I truly want to know 

-----Original Message-----
From: NAGDU <nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Mike Hingson via NAGDU
Sent: Friday, February 8, 2019 2:39 PM
To: 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Cc: mike at michaelhingson.com; 'Tracy Carcione' <carcione at access.net>
Subject: Re: [NAGDU] Aira, or Be My Eyes

Aira is not really comparable to Be My Eyes. Aira agents are trained to
described in Navigating as well as countless other tasks.

I do agree with you about using something that doesn't block your ears.
Aftershokz bone conduction headphones work well as several different
Bluetooth speakers like the Bose Soundware speakers that project into the
ear.

If you ever want to talk more about Aira feel free to give me a call at
(415) 827-4084.


Mike H.

-----Original Message-----
From: NAGDU <nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Melissa Allman via NAGDU
Sent: Friday, February 8, 2019 11:24 AM
To: 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Melissa Allman <MAllman at seeingeye.org>; 'Tracy Carcione'
<carcione at access.net>
Subject: Re: [NAGDU] Aira, or Be My Eyes

I've only tried Be My Eyes with something stationary. I would never try it
with navigation tasks. Just my take on it. And yes I feel like there should
be a way to grow an extra hand because I run out when using Aira but that's
just because I currently lack a Bluetooth headset that's paired with it. If
you have one, you can have the phone in your pocket and not hold anything
extra. I like to use it with headphones that do not cover my ears so traffic
sounds are not obscured.

Melissa R. Allman
Senior Specialist, Advocacy and Government Relations The Seeing Eye, Inc.
P.O. Box 375, Morristown, NJ 07963-0375 (mail)
10 Washington Valley Road, Morristown, NJ 07960-3412 (deliveries)
973-539-4425 ext. 1724,     Fax:  973-525-1081 mallman at SeeingEye.org  


-----Original Message-----
From: NAGDU [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Tracy Carcione
via NAGDU
Sent: Friday, February 08, 2019 2:20 PM
To: 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
Cc: Tracy Carcione
Subject: [NAGDU] Aira, or Be My Eyes

I've used Be My Eyes, but only while standing still.  It seems to me it
would be harder to use while on the move.  For instance, it would be handy
to use Aira on an upcoming trip to get through the airports and to find my
shuttle.  But how does one have the dog in one hand, the roller bag in
another, and wave the phone with yet another?  Oops, out of hands.  Don't I
need to wave the phone around so the helper can see what's around?  Or is it
a series of stops and starts?  Krokus finds stops and starts mighty
confusing, and I really can't blame him.  We both like to get on a roll and
keep moving.

Tracy

 

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