A new app from The Royal Society for Blind Children, London (RSBC) and Innocean Berlin is running parents’ bedtime story readings into audiobooks for visually impaired and blind children. 

The app, Bedtime Donations, aims to turn everyday moments into something powerful. Born from the insight that more than a third of blind and partially sighted people in the UK struggle to make ends meet and have little access to audiobooks, the app aims to give children easy access to stories for both education and mental wellness. 

Where producing audiobooks can be costly and time-consuming, Bedtime Donations uses AI to turn everyday bedtime readings into audiobooks. When a parent reads a story aloud from the app’s library, it is transformed into an audiobook with the help of AI. The library is made up of hundreds of copyright-free stories across 15 categories, all sourced from Project Gutenberg.

The app features Reader and Listener modes. In reader mode, parents and caretakers select from a curated library of short, child-friendly stories to read aloud. Once a story is recorded and meets quality guidelines, it becomes available for listeners to enjoy.

The app has been created with inclusion at the heart, developed in collaboration with accessibility experts. The colours used in the app and website meet WCAG Level AAA standards, maintaining a minimum contrast ratio of 7:1 for optimal visibility while carefully chosen fonts and built-in voice recognition on both iOS and Android ensure a user-friendly experience. 

To celebrate the launch, prominent UK actors, comedians and TV personalities have lent their voice to the app and the campaign including: Jon Richardson, Ralf Little, Jon Culshaw and Mathew Baynton.

“Every child deserves to enjoy the magic of a bedtime story - but for blind and partially sighted children, the choice of accessible audiobooks is still far too limited. The Bedtime Donations campaign is about changing that. By encouraging parents, caretakers, volunteers, and well-known voices to share their bedtime stories, we’re building a library of free, accessible books that will help children feel included, inspired and connected to the magic of storytelling,” says Julie Davis, CEO of RSBC.

Bedtime stories are important, with research showing that consistent bedtime stories play an important role in a child’s development, improving language skills, strengthening emotional bonds, and helping children process the events of their day. 

By using technology as a tool for inclusion, Innocean Berlin and the RSBC bring to life the creative possibilities enabled by AI.