Kursat Ceylan, a Turkish engineer, has been blind since birth. He applied his technical expertise to help himself and other people like him overcome that disability.
The "WeWalk" is a cane that comes with a built-in sensor to detect obstacles. It can also be paired with a smartphone to provide digital navigation assistance. CNN reports:
The WeWalk stick has an ultrasonic sensor that detects obstacles above chest level and uses vibrations to warn the user. It can be paired with a smartphone to help navigation, and is integrated with a voice assistant and Google Maps. [...]
Ceylan, who has been blind since birth, says that connecting the stick to the Internet of Things and smart city solutions makes it user-friendly.
"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 ... [or] which stores are around me. That kind of information can be provided with the WeWalk," he says.