The white cane for the twenty first century. While many tech firms have more and more labored to make know-how extra accessible for the blind and visually impaired, canes haven’t benefited a lot from these advances.
London-born WeWalk takes a extra conventional method to the white cane. Beyond the bulkier deal with, not a lot units the corporate’s product aside visually from a normal folding cane.
The firm at the moment affords two fashions: the $850 Smartcane 2 and $1,150 Smartcane+ 2. The major distinction between the tiers is the latter’s inclusion of a voice-controlled assistant — a seemingly invaluable device 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 immediately from the cane through an onboard speaker. The buttons on the deal with will also be used to interface immediately with the cellphone, bringing a tactile expertise smartphones lack.
Parked subsequent door on the CES present flooring, Washington state-based Glidance is a a lot newer entrant on the scene. The startup describes its product, Glide, as an “autonomous, self-guided mobility help,” or, merely, a robotic. Rather than the extra standardized kind issue, Glide encompasses a deal with hooked up to a wheeled base.
The $1,500 system ($1,799 with an annual subscription) is at the moment in comfortable launch mode, following an preliminary preorder. The system encompasses a pair of stereo-depth cameras and takes a extra technically refined method. In addition to avoiding obstacles, it would alert the consumer once they method a door, elevator, stair, or curb, and briefly lock once they attain an intersection to keep away from oncoming site visitors.
The firm says a transport product is round a 12 months out. Glidance has raised a $1.5 million pre-seed and is at the moment within the strategy of closing a $5 million seed.
