A 33-year-old who has been blind since birth is set to release a phone app designed to help the visually impaired lead normal lives.

Chris Telesford, of Lancaster Road in Higham Hill, Walthamstow, is the managing director of AME Communicate, which is behind the Sight app.

The technology allows users to take pictures of documents and written information they find difficult to read and modify the text by changing the font size and colour, underlining particular sections and altering the layout of a page.

The text can also be read back to the user through a speaker.

Mr Telesford was born with underdeveloped eyes, a condition known as bilateral coloboma, and has drawn on his own experiences to help people with disabilities to live independently.

He said: “Having been registered blind since birth and using adaptive technology, I understand the problems people with a visual impairment have.

“One of the key aspects is that people with a disability just want to fit in with normal society.”
Previously adaptive technology was bulky and awkward to use, but the Sight app combines the required technology in a small, portable device.

With a launch planned for December, Mr Telesford said his main aim was to improve the quality of people's lives.

“It has been a long journey for me, and I can tell you I haven't had the easiest of lives,” he said.

“If I can make the lives of blind people and those with a visual impairment better, it would have been worth all the hard work.”

In December AME Sight will be available on Android devices from the Google Play store or directly from AME Communicate.

Compatibility on iOS devices is expected to follow in mid-2014.