[NJTechDiv] Fwd: [tech-vi Announce List] RightHear App Makes Things Right

[Mario Brusco]

-------- Forwarded Message --------
From: David Goldfield [mailto:david.goldfield at outlook.com]
Subject: [tech-vi Announce List] RightHear App Makes Things Right
Date: Tuesday, April 26, 2022, 12:00 AM
To: List <tech-vi at groups.io>
Visually impaired Accessible technology - BingNews - Monday, April 25, 
2022 at 7:19 PM


   RightHear App Makes Things Right

Imagine getting lost so often that you are constantly late to things and 
missing scheduled events. This was Idan Meir, co-founder of RightHear. 
Founders of RightHear, Gil, and Idan were originally working on a 
shopping-related start-up when they realized there was space for a 
technology that successfully assists people with orientation 
difficulties or vision impairments.

Israeli start-up, RightHear has adopted the role of equalizing society. 
The start-up uses a Bluetooth beacon that scans its surroundings and 
then delivers auditory descriptions as notifications on an app. The 
beacon is self-sufficient as the app automatically delivers audio 
notifications, even if the smartphone is in a discreet place. 
RightHear’s principles endorse equal accessibility to the world and 
ensure that an individual is not just accurately navigated through a 
place but also orientated amongst their surroundings. This start-up is 
imperative for visually impaired people to have an equally immersive 
experience as a non-visually impaired person.

Director of Marketing at RightHear, Nicole Afek pinpointed that “only 
10% of blind people know braille”, thus the majority of signs and 
outdoor spaces are actually inaccessible. The talented marketer also 
brought attention to RightHear being the solution to lots of problems 
posed by the COVID-19 pandemic for visually impaired people who use 
braille. Post pandemic, people are warier of touching surfaces, 
illuminating the dependence on auditory notifications for an individual 
to comprehend their surroundings. With RightHear’s approach, individuals 
can equally and intrinsically experience a journey from A to B purely 
based on auditory descriptions.

A myriad of companies has chosen RightHear’s platform to provide an 
equal experience for all users. Each company is able to program specific 
audio descriptions in accordance with their space. “In a nutshell, the 
platform produces talking signage”, Nicole added. RightHear has 
partnered with Gett Taxi and Moovit to enable visually impaired users to 
use public transport independently. Information that would usually be 
missed such as what bus line is approaching is recognized and delivered 
to the user. The app is free of charge as Afek stated, “there should not 
be a price to have an equal and equitable experience of knowing what is 
going on in your surroundings”.

RightHear gives people the confidence to experience places by themselves 
as there is limited responsibility placed on the user. The Director of 
Marketing pinpointed the lack of accessibility to safety information 
that visually impaired people experience. She explained, “if you are 
visiting a space for the first time and you do not know what the 
emergency information is, RightHear would give you that information”. 
Vital aspects of spaces ranging from university campuses to museums are 
often missed by people with visual impairments.

This app provides true accessibility to users. Individuals with 
disabilities have historically been marginalized, demonstrating the 
importance of this app to include all people in society.

I am currently teaching English in an elementary school on a Masa 
program, in Rishon Lezion. I was born in Manchester, England so I am a 
native English speaker and moved to Israel 8 months ago. I am currently 
in the process of making Aliyah so I wish to stay in Israel permanently. 
I am keen to create a portfolio of tech based articles as I aspire to be 
a tech Journalist after my program. I would love to start sharing my 
thoughts on different start-up's in Israel based on my interviews with 
employees and CEO's.

http://www.bing.com/news/apiclick.aspx?ref=FexRss&aid=&tid=5C8FAFA2E1FF487AB45396757BECB2D8&url=https%3a%2f%2fblogs.timesofisrael.com%2frighthear-app-makes-things-right%2f&c=622091188279567487&mkt=en-us 
<http://www.bing.com/news/apiclick.aspx?ref=FexRss&aid=&tid=5C8FAFA2E1FF487AB45396757BECB2D8&url=https%3a%2f%2fblogs.timesofisrael.com%2frighthear-app-makes-things-right%2f&c=622091188279567487&mkt=en-us>



       David Goldfield
Assistive Technology Specialist

Feel free to visit my Web site
WWW.DavidGoldfield.info