Partnership will empower visually impaired visitors to fully engage with the 2,000+ animals and exhibits at the Detroit Zoo and the Belle Isle Nature Center
DETROIT, MI - The Detroit Zoological Society (DZS) is partnering with Baltimore-based assistive tech company ReBokeh Vision Technologies to improve accessibility for vision impaired visitors at the Detroit Zoo and the Belle Isle Nature Center. The partnership provides all guests at both locations with free, automatic, and unlimited access to ReBokeh, a mobile-app based assistive tech software which helps users with low vision to adjust the appearance of the world around them in order to fit their specific needs.
Hosting more than 1.2 million guests every year, the Detroit Zoo and Belle Isle Nature Center strive to create meaningful connections between people, animals, and the natural world so that all can thrive. As part of that mission, the DZS is committed to cultivating an equitable and inclusive culture by providing engaging experiences that educate and inspire meaningful connections among the community. This partnership will further that mission by empowering low vision guests to engage with the Zoo and Nature Center’s habitats in new and powerful ways.
“The immersive experiences that are available at both the Detroit Zoo and the Belle Isle Nature Center can inspire a lifelong curiosity and passion for the natural world,” said Dr. De'Andrea Matthews, Vice President of Diversity and Community Engagement at the DZS. “We’re incredibly excited that this partnership with ReBokeh will open the door for people with low vision to interact with all of our animals, plants, and environmental exhibits in a more engaging way."
ReBokeh’s patent-pending, sole source technology works by leveraging the live camera feed from a device, and allowing users to overlay customized filters to adjust things like contrast, color hue, zoom and lighting to meet the needs of low-vision users. Through the partnership, ReBokeh’s advanced geofencing capabilities will enable visitors within the space to download and use ReBokeh’s premium-tier software free of charge for the duration of their visit.
This empowerment-driven approach to accessibility will allow visually impaired visitors - 85% of whom have some usable vision - to engage with the Zoo and Nature Center using their own vision. This creates a more accessible and enjoyable experience for low vision visitors, since many low vision individuals struggle to capture information through sight-replacing options, like audio or tactile only options. It also provides visitors of any visual ability the option to customize their viewing experience in unique and creative ways.
ReBokeh’s software also includes an AI-powered image description feature, which quickly analyzes the user’s camera feed to provide a detailed text description of what the user is looking at. This feature was designed to help people with low vision easily determine what they’re looking at before making further adjustments.
“The opportunity to interact with thousands of animals and environmental exhibits at the Detroit Zoo and Belle Isle Nature Center is an incredible experience, but also one that is largely reliant on sight,” said Rebecca Rosenberg, the vision impaired founder and CEO of ReBokeh. “We’re very proud to offer a solution that will allow people with different visual abilities the opportunity to engage with each location’s exhibits in a more rich and impactful way.”
ReBokeh is extending this partnership opportunity to other museums, zoos, and public spaces in an effort to make low vision accessibility the rule rather than the exception. Organizations who are interested in partnering with ReBokeh can contact the team at partnerships@rebokeh.com.
About ReBokeh Vision Technologies
Founded in 2019, ReBokeh is on a mission to provide millions of low-vision individuals with assistive tech that’s reflective of their needs. ReBokeh’s flagship product, the ReBokeh mobile app, enables users to adjust the appearance of the world around them in order to help them navigate their specific visual condition. This approach empowers low-vision individuals to make use of their functional vision, rather than trying to replace it with tactile or audio descriptions.
For more information, visit: https://rebokeh.com/
About The Detroit Zoo
Operated by the nonprofit Detroit Zoological Society, the Detroit Zoo is one of Michigan’s largest paid family attractions, hosting 1.2 million guests annually. More than 2,000 animals of more than 200 species call the Zoo’s 125 acres home.
For more information, visit: https://detroitzoo.org/
About The Belle Isle Nature Center
Located on 5 acres in Belle Isle Park, the Belle Isle Nature Center is the perfect location for educational, environmental and natural experiences in the metro Detroit area. The Nature Center welcomes all and provides free admission and programming to schools, families and community groups.
For more information, visit: https://belleislenaturecenter.org/