NextGuide in the news.

“The device looks like a conventional cane for the blind, but a camera is installed in its slightly enlarged handle. This detects the surroundings and recognizes possible obstacles even before the cane touches them. A pointer on the cane’s handle tells the blind person where the obstacles are.”

“The cane for the blind not only indicates which direction someone should walk in order to avoid obstacles, but also lets the person feel whether they are standing in front of a door, a pedestrian crossing or stairs, for example, through various vibration signals.”

“This smart cane makes life easier for the visually impaired.”

“[…] there is a further advantage at crosswalks, which cannot be felt with a normal cane. They are detected by the built-in camera. The same also applies to doors, for example. If the built-in technology detects a door, the handle of the cane vibrates twice and the pointer points in its direction.”

“The cane for the visually impaired has existed since 1931, i.e. for 90 years. It hasn’t changed in all that time, until now. […] Equipped with a camera and intelligent software, it is a glimmer of hope…”

“According to the inventors, the stick is suitable for navigation inside and outside the home. […] With their new development, they could move fluidly through the environment.”

“The traditional white cane for blind and visually impaired people has been around for over 100 years. But while the world has changed quite a bit since it was invented in England in 1921, the functionality of the blind cane has remained virtually identical to this day.”

“At REHACARE, ETH Zurich will present the CYBATHLON and its various competition disciplines. One of the developer teams present is NextGuide, which has developed an intelligent cane for the blind.”

“[…] students at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH) have made a smart cane using computer vision and machine learning. They integrate a camera, software, and a pointer into their so-called NextGuide. The blind individual can feel tactile signals through their thumb to receive instructions on where to turn to avoid obstacles.”

“The ETH students’ NextGuide is ‘quite far along in its development,’ according to the German Society for Deafblindness.”