New app to help visually-impaired

Life for the visually-impaired will improve with the help of a new app, called "Be My Eyes", which makes use of cameras and generous "guides" to help accomplish day-to-day chores.

The app pairs the visually-impaired with sighted people who help them with a number of tasks, such as counting money, choosing an outfit or browsing the web, CTV News reported.

"Most people who are visually-impaired are getting really excited because they are discovering that it's really not that difficult to browse the web and communicate via e-mail anymore, thanks to this technology," Jeffrey Berman, a specialist with the Central Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired, US, was quoted as saying.

The app uses the cameras on a visually-impaired user's smartphone to show the sighted person what is in front of them.

The sighted person then describes in detail the object or product in question to the visually impaired person over the phone.

So far, there are 230,000 sighted people helping 19,000 visually-impaired users through the app.

"We just need more people to volunteer as sighted guides, then it could be an incredible app," Berman added.

The app is currently available at Apple's App Store.