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How EyeBridge Could Take Over for the Seeing Eye Dog

TMCnet Feature

June 16, 2014

How EyeBridge Could Take Over for the Seeing Eye Dog

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By Steve Anderson
Contributing TMCnet Writer

These days, we hear a lot about how machines are poised to take jobs away from hard-working regular folks. The robot that shut down a car assembly plant, for example, or the 3D printers that will kill an industry devoted to the production of key chains, or any of a hundred similar such stories. But now, we discover that dogs aren't immune to this development either, as a new smartphone app known as Eyebridge may well put an end to the seeing-eye dog.


The Eyebridge app connects a live operator to a user's smartphone, where the smartphone's rear-facing camera gives the Eyebridge live operator a look at what's going on in the user's world at the time. The live operator can then provide a variety of useful information to the user. One Eyebridge beta tester noted that the app would be particularly helpful in terms of finding where a power outlet is located in a room to how a climate control system might work. Eyebridge is currently being tested on several fronts, including in one case with a law firm who intends to offer the Eyebridge service to its visually impaired clients.

A version is currently at work for both Android and iOS systems—a future version will reportedly work with Google (News - Alert) Glass—and will connect via either Wi-Fi where available or mobile network where not. The app is set for a release in  October, assuming the company meets its crowdfunding target on Crowdcube, users will be able to select a variety of plans with which to work, starting at 60 minutes of remote assistance for around 19 pounds sterling (about $32.24 U.S.) and working up from there.

While it may not replace the seeing-eye dog in its current form—even Eyebridge's CEO, Guy Curlewis, noted that “...no technology can replace the constant companionship of a Seeing Eye canine, but until a dog can read your mail or help you figure out a new remote control, Eyebridge will play an important role.”—it could be the beginning of just such a replacement. We've already seen how technology in some cases is providing help for the blind in the form of the Argus II, targeting macular degeneration, and we're likely to see plenty more such technologies emerge. Adding in the effects of technologies like Eyebridge, and the end result may become technologically-augmented sight that's at least almost as good as the real thing.

But where Eyebridge really shines is as an example of how connectivity can impact everyday life. Some have even noted that Eyebridge could serve as a valuable help for those with sight as well, in things like translation services—a remote service could look at a page written in a foreign language, translate said language into a more familiar one, and relay the results to the original reader—as well as in remote diagnostics for healthcare services, able to look at a bump, bruise or other issue and note that said issue looks a lot like a symptom of something else.

There's a lot of potential for something like the Eyebridge to come around, and not just for those without sight, either. Even if the Eyebridge system doesn't meet its targeted goals and get released, there will likely be plenty of other services willing to step in and offer many of the complementary services of which Eyebridge could have served as the basis. There's a lot of room in the market for such services, and Eyebridge could ultimately be the start of something big.




Edited by Maurice Nagle

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