WeWalk presented a new version of its smart cane for people with visual impairments at CES 2025, bringing a redesign that addresses many of the shortcomings of the original model and adds AI features and advanced sensors from TDK. It is positioned as another collapsible white sugar cane. Founder Kursat Ceylan, who has been blind since birth, says the Smart Cane 2 can make walking easier and safer, offering features like turn-by-turn navigation and obstacle detection, as well as ChatGPT’s powerful on-demand voice assistant. information in the hands of users without the need to reassemble the smartphone.
The WeWalk Smart Cane 2 has a thinner handle than its predecessor, which should make for a more comfortable grip, and the company says it’s now almost as light as a regular white cane. It has tactile buttons for ease of use, eliminating the previous model’s touchpad that some people found difficult to use. Ceylan says it can be used in a variety of climates, not just warm and dry (WeWalk describes the new cane as “rainwater resistant”).
“You can fold it up and unfold it when you need it. There is a speaker, microphone, obstacle detection technology and a flashlight to make the visually impaired visible at night. It also has motion sensors on its own to provide more accurate navigation information,” explained Ceylan.
Under the hood, the WeWalk Smart Cane 2 has an ultrasonic time-of-flight sensor, an inertial measurement unit with six-axis motion tracking, a modified pulse intensity microphone and a barometric pressure sensor from electronics company TDK. When it detects something coming, it notifies the user with both haptic and audio feedback, according to Ceylan.
He demonstrated this in a very crowded, noisy venue at the Las Vegas Convention Center, and I could hear over the crowd when the cane told him he was approaching the skin – this time, a carpeted step marked with yellow and black tape. that I saw many CES attendees stumble during our conversation. It can also connect to headphones via Bluetooth.
Paired with your smartphone, it can provide you with navigation instructions and information about your surroundings, as well as public transportation options. He says: “You can hear the names of the shops and restaurants you pass. At Starbucks, where she can’t read the menu, she says she might ask the assistant if they sell chocolate croissants.
“You no longer need to hold your smartphone while you go somewhere,” said Ceylan. “You can put it in your pocket and get all the information with your WeWalk smart cane.” There is a smartphone interface for those who want to use it, however, let’s hold a demo so I can see what happens on the other side. Unlike most of the products I encountered at CES this year that seem to include AI or ChatGPT for no real reason other than they can, this actually felt like a situation where it made sense and could be very beneficial.
Since it’s so new, we don’t know how all of this will translate into real-world use. Pre-orders are now open for the WeWalk Smart Cane 2, and the first wave is expected to start shipping before the end of this month. There are two pricing models: $850 for the smart cane and a voice assistant subscription that costs $4.99 per month, or $1150 in total without the additional subscription fee to take full advantage of the AI. WeWalk Smart Cane 2 is available worldwide.
The London-based center also has a partnership with the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB) that will begin in February, when the organization will begin using the WeWalk Smart Cane 2 in its cane training program. The goal is to collect meaningful data for educators to truly understand how people use walking sticks (AI-enabled or otherwise), and help them get the most out of the tools. Ceylan says that “is very important, because the more you improve, the better you participate in life.”