The camera on your smartphone is powerful. You use it to record your baby’s first steps. Take a panorama shot or selfies at the Taj Mahal. Every day, we’re finding new uses.
And recently, a startup in Silicon Valley realized: That camera on the phone could be used by people who are blind, to get help seeing remotely. The company Be My Eyeshas created a novel kind of volunteer opportunity on the Internet.
Universal Design (UD) is an approach to design that increases the potential for developing a better quality of life for a wide range of individuals. It is a design process that enables and empowers a diverse population by improving human performance, health and wellness, and social participation (Steinfeld and Maisel, 2012). It creates products, systems, and environments to be as usable as possible by as many people as possible regardless of age, ability or situation.
