It’s getting dark. A severely visually impaired woman is making her way through the busy evening rush hour with her white cane. She’s crossing cautiously.
BOOM!
Suddenly, she’s lying in the street. A startled driver rushes towards her. He hadn’t seen her, cane and all.
Later, Debby (my name) comes up with a simple solution: a Lightup cane.
They can see this cane from far away, which is much safer..
The LightupCane
The “white cane” is the primary tool for VIPs to signal their presence and communicate their direction to other road users. The original white cane was introduced almost a century ago and has proven its value.
Now that new technology is available, we can improve the white cane by, first, adding the element of “light.”
- Increases the visibility of the VIP
- Increases the recognisability of the VIP as a VIP from larger distances, meters save lives in traffic
- Improves safety of the VIP
- Improves the functionality of the cane for the VIP
In short, De Marchena LightupCane increases safety for the VIP in traffic. The other road users get more time to respond.
Debby’s goal is for 30% of visually impaired people to use the LightupCane by 2030, and for the algorithms in self-driving cars and smart cities to recognize and respond to her networked cane by 2030.
This will have a huge positive impact on VIP safety, mobility, and quality of life.
And you can help! Donate!
From the very beginning, we’ve tested our prototypes with the VIP community. Based on their feedback, we’re working on the much-needed improvements.
Below are photos of the very first experiments, ranging from the Sextopus to foil to all kinds of tubes.
And you can help, donate!
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