Blind Engineer Invents a Smart Cane That Guides Using Google Maps and Sensors

WeWALK Smart Cane

Recently, forward-thinking designers from all walks of life have found ways to incorporate smart technology into their products. While many of these revolutionized products—like a cat selfie device and a cute planter—simply aim to make life a bit more fun; however, some, like the WeWalk smart cane, strive to make a difference.

Joining the ranks of the Dot braille watch, WeWALK is a white cane attachment intended to assist those with visual impairments through the use of smart technology. Built-in speakers, Google maps, and Voice Assistant—as well as compatibility with a smart phone's Bluetooth system—can help blind people navigate, while special sensors alert them with vibrations when obstacles above chest level present themselves. Together, these tools “support the visually impaired in their full participation into social life.”

Kursat Ceylan, the CEO and co-founder of Young Guru Academy (YGA), the Turkish non-profit behind WeWALK, is familiar with this need for “full participation” on a firsthand basis. As a visually impaired engineer, Ceylan knew that he had found his niche when he decided to use his own experiences to develop such a meaningful technological device.

“In these days we are talking about flying cars, but these people have been using just a plain stick,” he explained to CNN. “As a blind person, when I am at the Metro station I don’t know which is my exit… I don’t know which bus is approaching… which stores are around me. That kind of information can be provided with the WeWalk.”

This groundbreaking smart cane is available for purchase on the WeWALK website.

WeWALK, an innovative smart cane, is no ordinary walking stick.

WeWALK Smart Cane

Built-in speakers, Google maps, and Voice Assistant—as well as compatibility with a smart phone's Bluetooth system—help blind people navigate.

WeWALK Smart Cane

And sensors alert them to obstacles that are not ordinarily detected by white canes.

WeWALK Smart Cane

The cane can also be tailored to sync with different devices.

WeWALK Smart Cane

WeWALK Smart Cane

The team behind WeWALK aims to make navigation easier for the visually impaired.

WeWALK Smart Cane

And to support their full participation into social life.

WeWALK Smart Cane

Learn more about this inspiring invention.

WeWALK: Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube 

Thanks for the tip, Esther!

All images via WeWALK.

Related Articles:

World’s First Braille Smartwatch Revolutionizes the Way Blind People Receive Information

Stylish Smart Ring Equipped with a “Panic” Button to Send for Help in Case of Emergency

LEGO Designs Braille Bricks to Help Visually Impaired and Blind Children Learn How to Read

Kelly Richman-Abdou

Kelly Richman-Abdou is a Contributing Writer at My Modern Met. An art historian living in Paris, Kelly was born and raised in San Francisco and holds a BA in Art History from the University of San Francisco and an MA in Art and Museum Studies from Georgetown University. When she’s not writing, you can find Kelly wandering around Paris, whether she’s leading a tour (as a guide, she has been interviewed by BBC World News America and France 24) or simply taking a stroll with her husband and two tiny daughters.
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