ReBokeh

ReBokeh is an American assistive technology company focused on people with low vision. Rather than bypassing vision with audio or tactile tools, ReBokeh builds software that enhances the usable, functional vision that most people with vision impairments still have. The company's flagship product is the ReBokeh app, which uses the camera on an existing iOS or Android device and lets users adjust contrast, brightness, colors, inversion filters and more, alongside what the company describes as industry-leading zoom and image stabilization. Users can try basic features for free or gain full access through ReBokeh All-Access partner sites. ReBokeh was founded by Rebecca Rosenberg, who was diagnosed with Oculocutaneous Albinism as an infant and grew frustrated with the assistive technologies offered to her during school. At 17, a "technology meeting" at a Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired presented her with a choice between a roughly three-foot-tall, nearly $5,000 digital magnifier and an audio recorder. That experience convinced her that assistive technology was far behind modern devices, and she founded ReBokeh so that people with vision impairments would have technology truly designed for them. The name comes from the photography term "bokeh," in which light sources are out of focus and blurred; "Re-Bokeh" means re-clarifying what is out of focus. The company positions itself as "by the visually impaired community, for the visually impaired community." Its market argument is that 90% of individuals with vision impairments have some usable functional vision, yet most accessibility initiatives attempt to bypass vision altogether. ReBokeh cites 25 million low vision people in the US alone, an average of $9 million in organizational revenue lost when a venue is not visually accessible, and a claim that low vision people are 40% more likely to engage in new activities with ReBokeh. ReBokeh sells to both individuals and organizations. The ReBokeh All-Access offering uses geofencing technology to unlock the full extent of the app's features automatically for anyone within a partner's space, on their own personal device, so visitors can seamlessly customize their visual experience. The company has worked with industry leaders; Miami International Airport (MIA) was described as the first airport in the world to provide ReBokeh's innovation to travelers with vision challenges. Leadership includes CEO Rebecca Rosenberg and CTO Jacob Mendelowitz.

ReBokeh was founded by Rebecca Rosenberg, who was diagnosed with Oculocutaneous Albinism when she was only a few months old. Throughout school she was offered many different assistive technologies that did not fit her needs. Despite having significant residual vision, she was offered tools that attempted to bypass her vision altogether, defaulting to audio-only options. At 17, she attended what had been called a "technology meeting" at the offices of a Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired. She was directed to a large room filled with devices aimed at assisting college-bound students with visual disabilities. Her options were an enormous, overhead-projector-like textbook enlarger with its own computer screen — effectively a huge digital camera/magnifier, three feet tall, for nearly $5,000 — or an audio recorder. In that moment she realized how far behind modern day these technologies really were, and how much room there was to improve them. Rebecca founded ReBokeh so that every person with a vision impairment can feel seen, knowing that there is technology available that is truly meant for them. The company's name is derived from the photography term "Bokeh," a technique in which all light sources are out of focus and blurred. "Re-Bokeh" is the re-clarifying of what is out of focus — a direct statement of the product's purpose. ReBokeh developed its app specifically for individuals with low vision, to enable them to make the most of their functional vision in any environment. The app makes use of the camera on an existing iOS device and enables adjustments to contrast, brightness, colors, inversion filters and more, plus industry-leading zoom and image stabilization. The company later extended availability to Android as well. Users can try basic features or visit one of the company's All-Access partner sites for full access. ReBokeh markets to both organizations and individuals. Its All-Access offering uses geofencing technology to unlock the full extent of ReBokeh's features to anyone in a partner's space, automatically and on their own personal device, so they can seamlessly customize their visual experience. The company has cited Miami International Airport as the first airport in the world to provide ReBokeh's innovation to travelers with vision challenges, quoting a local official on the introduction of the app to millions of visitors. ReBokeh frames its market around the statistic that 90% of individuals with vision impairments have some amount of usable, functional vision, and that most accessibility initiatives instead attempt to bypass vision altogether. It cites 25 million low vision people in the US alone, an average of $9 million in organizational revenue lost when a venue is not visually accessible, and a claim that low vision people are 40% more likely to engage in new activities with ReBokeh. Leadership includes CEO Rebecca Rosenberg and CTO Jacob Mendelowitz.

• Rebecca Rosenberg is diagnosed with Oculocutaneous Albinism as an infant.

• At 17, Rosenberg attends a Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired "technology meeting" that inspires ReBokeh.

• ReBokeh is founded by Rebecca Rosenberg.

• The ReBokeh app launches for iOS, using the device camera to adjust contrast, brightness, colors, inversion filters, zoom and image stabilization.

• ReBokeh becomes available for Android.

• ReBokeh All-Access launches, using geofencing to unlock full features at partner sites.

• Miami International Airport is described as the first airport in the world to provide ReBokeh to travelers with vision challenges.

Assistive technology built by and for the visually impaired community, enhancing residual functional vision rather than bypassing it.

• ReBokeh app for iOS

  Low-vision enhancement app using the iOS device camera with adjustable contrast, brightness, colors, inversion filters, zoom and image stabilization.

• ReBokeh app for Android

  Android version of the ReBokeh low-vision enhancement app.

• ReBokeh All-Access

  Geofencing-based offering that automatically unlocks the full extent of ReBokeh's features to anyone in a partner's space, on their own personal device.

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2. 2About Us | ReBokehrebokeh.com
3. 3ReBokehwikidata.org