The white cane for the 21st century. While many tech firms have more and more labored to make expertise extra accessible for the blind and visually impaired, canes haven’t benefitted a lot from these advances.
London-born WeWalk takes a extra conventional strategy to the white cane. Beyond the bulkier deal with, not a lot units the corporate’s product aside visually from a typical folding cane.
The firm at the moment presents two fashions: the $850 Smartcane 2 and $1,150 Smartcane+ 2. The primarily distinction between the tiers is the latter’s inclusion of a voice-controlled assistant — a seemingly invaluable instrument for a visually impaired individual on-the-go. In addition to detecting ground-level obstacles, the system is able to recognizing potential obstacles overhead.
The system connects wirelessly to an iPhone/Android smartphone, permitting customers to get strolling instructions straight from the cane by way of an onboard speaker. The buttons on the deal with will also be used to interface straight with the telephone, bringing a tactile expertise smartphones lack.
Parked subsequent door on the CES showfloor, Washington State-based Glidance is way newer entrant on the scene. The startup describes its product, Glide, as an “autonomous, self-guided mobility aid” or, merely, a robotic. Rather than the extra standardized kind issue, Glide incorporates a deal with hooked up to a wheeled base.
The $1,500 system ($1,799 with an annual subscription) is at the moment in mushy launch mode, following an preliminary preorder. The system incorporates a pair of stereo depth cameras and takes a extra technically subtle strategy. In addition to avoiding obstacles, it should alert the consumer once they strategy a door, elevator, stair, or curb, and quickly lock once they attain an intersection to keep away from oncoming site visitors.
The firm says a transport product is round a yr out. Glidance has raised a $1.5 million pre-seed and is at the moment within the strategy of closing a $5 million seed.
