Cane for the blind uses Google Maps to find their way

Visually impaired people can now walk around the city more easily and safely, because engineer Kursat Ceylan has developed a smart cane called WeWalk. It uses ultrasonic sensors to alert the user to nearby objects and obstacles by vibrating the cable.

Ceylan is CEO and co-founder of Young Guru Academy (YGA) - the Turkish nonprofit organization behind WeWalk - and is also blind, meaning he knows the challenges these people face and has decided to devote his knowledge to developing something that could improve the lives of this audience.

“These days we are talking about flying cars, but these people are just using a simple stick. As a blind man, when I'm at the subway station, I don't know what my exit is, I don't know which bus is approaching, which shops are around me. This kind of information can be provided with WeWalk, ”said the engineer in an interview with CNN.

In order to make visually impaired people even more independent and protect them from suspended objects and obstacles above chest level, the smart cane can be paired with any smartphone's Bluetooth system, it is also integrated with Voice Assistant and Google Maps.

The device, which costs nearly $ 500, is also equipped with built-in speakers and sensors that send vibrations to warn of obstacles and infrastructure details that may not be easily detected. In addition, the Turkish startup's intention is that in the future it will be able to combine WeWalk with rideshare applications and other transportation services.