WeWALK Smart Cane
Safety, Convenience, and Confidence for the Visually Impaired
For the visually impaired, the difficulties of navigating a city can often limit a person's independence. A walking cane can help with obstacle navigation, but it can't provide awareness of the user’s surroundings (what's my location, is there a coffee shop nearby, what bus is approaching). A smartphone can begin to resolve this by providing directions and location awareness, however, using it alongside a guide stick isn't always convenient and may require the use of both hands making it difficult to carry other items like packages.
The WeWALK smart cane simplifies the solution by encompassing many of the features needed to overcome these types of mobility challenges. Its built-in ultrasonic sensor uses haptic feedback to warn of oncoming obstacles (ground level and also uniquely above waist level), its proximity sensors pair with Google maps to provide turn by turn navigation, it has a built-in microphone/speaker to provide Amazon's Alexa voice assistance, and its touchpad can control smartphone/app features while their phone is in the user's pocket.
WeWALK also offers an open architecture, which means additional features can be incorporated later into the device (Search – “Where can I buy vegetables near me?”, emergency fall alerts, hailing a ride-share to the user’s location). The device is priced at $599 and is available through the company's website. As an assistive technology, WeWALK creates a higher level of independence for the visually impaired while significantly improving their safety and confidence while they move about.
Tags: #wewalk, #smartcane, #visuallyimpaired, #sightloss, #walkingcane, #cane