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Good practice Imported

WeWALK Smart Cane — Sensor-Augmented Mobility Aid for Blind and Low-Vision Users

Türkiye · Istanbul · See the Türkiye profile · See the Istanbul profile

Evidence: Descriptive / self-reported Top 68% 56/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

A Turkish nonprofit-incubated startup's sensor attachment turns a standard white cane into a chest-height obstacle detector with turn-by-turn voice navigation, sold in 60+ countries and backed by manufacturer Vestel and a GBP1.7m UK innovation grant.

1,500 orders
Customer orders at London launch (November 2018)
60+ countries
Countries with retail availability (current)
1.7 GBP million
UKRI innovation grant (2023)
WeWALK Smart Cane — Sensor-Augmented Mobility Aid for Blind and Low-Vision Users

Details

Maturity
Scaling
Promoter
WeWALK (Young Guru Academy spinoff, manufactured with Vestel)
Period
2018-present
Keywords
assistive technology, mobility, accessibility, hardware

Context

WeWALK's sensor attachment for the standard white cane was incubated by Young Guru Academy (YGA), an Istanbul-based nonprofit leadership programme, and first shown publicly at the TechShare Pro accessibility conference in London on 29 November 2018.

Objectives

The attachment adds an ultrasonic sensor that detects obstacles at chest height — a blind spot for a ground-sweeping cane alone — plus a gyroscope, accelerometer, compass, vibration motor and touchpad, pairing over Bluetooth with a smartphone app for turn-by-turn Google Maps navigation and beta integration with Amazon Alexa.

Activities

Production and primary funding come from Vestel, a major Turkish/European consumer-electronics manufacturer, which builds the device at its Manisa factory; by the time of its London launch in November 2018, WeWALK had already taken 1,500 customer orders across the UK, US and Turkey, and the product has since gone on sale in more than 60 countries. In 2023, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) awarded the company GBP 1.7 million to develop further AI-assisted navigation features.

Results

The product has been recognised by Time's Best Inventions 2023, the King's Awards for Enterprise: Innovation 2024, the Edison Awards 2024 and an iF Product Design Award.

Conclusions

No independent, peer-reviewed trial of real-world mobility outcomes was identified in the sources reviewed; reach, funding and awards are well documented by independent press and industry coverage, but structured evaluation evidence beyond vendor-reported figures and award-jury recognition is limited.

Implementation
Indicative cost
Medium (€50k–€500k) — As a hardware attachment produced by an established consumer-electronics manufacturer, the device benefits from existing factory infrastructure (Vestel's Manisa plant) rather than requiring new manufacturing investment from scratch.
Time to results
Long (> 3 years) — Incubated from 2018 (public launch November 2018), with continuous product development supported by a 2023 GBP 1.7 million UKRI grant for further AI-assisted navigation features.
Staffing & skills
Young Guru Academy (YGA) — Istanbul-based nonprofit incubator, Vestel — Turkish/European consumer-electronics manufacturer, production at its Manisa factory

Conditions for success

  • Manufacturing partnership with an established consumer-electronics manufacturer (Vestel) providing scale and reliability
  • A public conference launch (TechShare Pro) building initial visibility and orders
  • Follow-on public grant funding (GBP 1.7m from UKRI in 2023) to extend AI-assisted navigation features

Common failure modes

  • No independent, peer-reviewed trial of real-world mobility outcomes identified
  • Evaluation evidence beyond vendor-reported figures and award-jury recognition is limited

Where it fits

Governance type
nonprofit-incubated private company with a manufacturing partner
Scale
international, sold in 60+ countries
Income level
upper-middle-income (Turkey); global commercial market

Commonly funded by

Own resources / municipal budget National / regional programmes

Indicative funding routes for practices of this type — always check each programme's current calls and eligibility rules.

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Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

Attachments

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