New smart hub helping visually impaired adults and children

Kyran O’Mahoney has created the myNCBI Smart Hub which is the very first innovative voice-based platform of its scale within the charity sector

Kyran O’Mahoney was a National Council for the Blind of Ireland (NCBI) service user until his mid-teens.

With just 17% vision, Kyran O’Mahoney was a National Council for the Blind of Ireland (NCBI) service user until his mid-teens.

Years later, looking around for a chief technology officer role, the computer science graduate spotted a job ad for that very position with NCBI.

O’Mahoney recalls a statistic shared with him at the job interview by the NCBI CEO — fewer than 15% of people with a vision impairment in Ireland are employed.

“I was bowled over. I asked — can they not use a computer. I decided to take the job — I wanted to showcase how technology can be the biggest enabler for someone with sight loss.”

NCBI has just launched O’Mahoney’s creation: the myNCBI Smart Hub, a voice-based platform that allows adults and children who are visually impaired to access information by simply using voice commands.

Available on Alexa-enabled devices and Google Home, it’s the very first innovative voice-based platform of its scale within the charity sector. With the hub, users can access information on NCBI support services, sight loss conditions, NCBI Labs technology services and advocacy. They can access NCBI podcasts and hear the latest articles from national newspapers and magazines. Via the hub, they can request a referral or a call back from an NCBI staff member.

“There are many barriers for people with disabilities — we wanted to remove some financial and location restrictions to our services and supports,” says O’Mahoney. With research finding most NCBI service users have either an Alexa-enabled or Google device in their home already, O’Mahoney opted to design and build the myNCBI Smart Hub to allow the charity to assist them directly on these platforms.

The myNCBI isn’t built to be used solely by NCBI. “We’ve done all the hard work around the technology and we want to provide it to charities around the world. Already we’ve had three disability charities approach us — one in the US and two in the UK.”

Thirteen-year-old Oisín Feehilly, who lives near Tuam, is using the myNCBI Smart Hub. “My eyes don’t work. I read with my fingers, with Braille. I use my ears to listen. I use my hands for feeling. I have a cane,” says the resourceful teen.

His mum, Deirdre, describes Oisín as “a real techie”. Explaining how the smart hub will benefit him, she says: “Listening to the NCBI library, to newspapers and magazines, to the podcasts, will keep him in touch with what’s going on. It’ll help him keep connected with NCBI. We want to build that up, that support because this is how his life will be.”

• MyNCBI Smart Hub aids access to services like Vision Sports Ireland: the hub can be used for info about local sporting groups/tennis teams/golf/football/swimming and more.
• It empowers children to learn about their condition by using their voice to ask questions/medical information/to access educational tools.
• With access to Alexa-enabled or Google Home device, myNCBI Smart Hub can be enabled from Amazon Skill section of the Amazon app or Google Action section of the Google App.
• Once enabled, full suite of features can be accessed for free by linking the skill to a myNCBI account.
• www.ncbi.ie