Help Us BENable the World: Inclusive Navigation for All

Hello friends,

We are Benvision, a passionate team and Public Benefit Corporation dedicated to making the world more navigable for the visually impaired.

Our journey began as a humble project at the MIT Reality Hack 2023, where we were honored to win the "Working Together for Inclusion and Equality" track. Inspired by the late Ben Underwood, who taught himself exholocation when cancer took his eyesight away, our mission was to create a more inclusive and beautiful world through combining music with the concept of echolocation, resulting in our first prototype of BEN (the Binaural Experience Navigator).

Our Story

Initially, we set out only to create an enjoyable experience for the visually impaired, a community often overlooked by the visually-centric XR industry. However, when we showed our prototype to our mentor Chris McNally, a low-vision individual and assistive tech evangelist, he recognized its potential of our music based solution as a powerful navigation aid. This revelation inspired us to transform our project into a startup.

Our CEO, Patrick, began volunteering at a local charity for the blind to gain a deeper understanding of the challenges faced by the visually impaired. One poignant moment was when he encountered a woman who had been standing outside in PJ’s in the freezing cold for over 10 minutes, unable to find her dormitory door even with her white cane. This underscored the gaps left by existing solutions and fueled our commitment to make a difference.

Through regular focus groups with charities for the blind, we discovered that music provides a better solution than traditional speech-based apps. Music allows for quick comprehension of surroundings, offering a dignified and delightful experience. If you imagine speaking out a description of a room's surroundings—it takes time. But with a musical language, similar to the symphonic fairy tale of Peter and the Wolf, users can instantly grasp their environment and navigate efficiently.

Our Progress & Vision

Since our inception, we have formed partnerships with several startup accelerator programs, including Microsoft for Startups, Google for Startups, NVIDIA Inception, Snapdragon Pathfinder Program, Rally Social Enterprise Accelerator, and more. We were finalists in the startup pitch competition at AWE 2023 and in the final running for an Auggie in the "Best Societal Impact" category at AWE 2024. We very recently launched our flagship app BetaBEN, along with a pilot program, inviting public space enterprises like museums, botanical gardens, and universities to collaborate with us in "BENabling" their locations.

Meet our Team

Patrick Burton, CEO: A volunteer for the blind, accessibility advocate, and creative technologist with a passion for inclusive innovation.

Soobin Ha, Chief Audio Director: An expert in composing film scores and game audio design, crafting immersive and intuitive auditory experiences.

Aaditya Vaze, Technology Lead: A rapid prototyper and XR developer with a track record of creating impactful and meaningful solutions.

Dr. Louell Sala, Chief Community Officer: A physician with an empathetic approach to care and a dedicated community volunteer.

Jayden Kim, Accessibility Researcher: CPACC certified, with extensive experience as an accessibility engineer, enhancing designs and developments for the visually impaired.

Patrick, Aaditya, Soobin, Louell, and Jayden

Why We Need Your Help

We are entirely bootstrapped, mostly funded by the grace of CEO Patrick’s (amazing) wife, Kristine. To scale our initiative and bring BEN to all who can benefit, we need your support. Our expenditure projections include supporting our pilot program, software licenses, legal and finance services, marketing, operations, and testing. Every dollar raised will help us further develop our technology, expand our team, and reach more visually impaired individuals.

What $25k will help us do:

Further proceeds will allow us to supercharge our user testing initiatives, protect ourselves with legal services, and expedite important product updates to give our beneficiaries the very best experience using our apps.

Your contribution will help us continue our mission to create a more inclusive world. Together, we can ensure that the visually impaired and other orientation-challenged persons can navigate their surroundings with confidence and ease.

Donations of $100 or greater will be entered into a lottery draw for swag-based rewards. Swag includes: stickers, pens, coffee mugs, tote bags, hats, and T-shirts!

Thank you for your support!

Warm regards,

The Benvision Team