IAM Podcast for Startups · Stories of innovators, startup founders and entrepreneurs around the world

Turn Public Spaces Into More Accessible Environments with RightHear | Idan Meir, Co-Founder

·29 min·2 clips

The opening starts in a mall. Idan asks listeners to picture needing a restroom and having no idea where to go. Simple problem, very familiar. From there, he makes the case that this is really about orientation in public spaces, not only accessibility for one audience. RightHear is built around that bigger idea: public environments should be easier to move through for many kinds of visitors. Mariah keeps things warm and grounded. She introduces Idan as co-founder and CEO of RightHear, then gives him room to explain what the product does without dressing it up. The app is free, runs on Android and iPhone, and Idan spells out the name so people can find it. Privacy gets real attention. Users do not have to sign in, give a name, share an email, or connect through Facebook. They can just download it and use it. Outdoors, the app uses GPS-based directions and information tied to the user's current location. Indoors, where GPS is not available, the experience depends on places that RightHear has mapped and enabled. McDonald's in Israel is the example he uses. RightHear works with all McDonald's locations in Israel, helps users find an accessible location, simulate it before they arrive, and pick a route. Idan also answers the touch-screen question: VoiceOver and TalkBack let blind and visually impaired users hear what is on screen, including inside RightHear. It is a practical founder conversation about accessibility, privacy, product choices, and getting the thing working in real places.

As heard by us

A practical look at indoor orientation, accessibility, and anonymous app use.

Indoor orientation is the real focus here: finding a restroom, an exit, or the right corridor inside a mall or another public place. Idan Meir treats it as a design problem that most people only notice when they are already lost.

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Why you'd press play

Hear how an indoor orientation problem becomes a universal design app.

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