Stanford Researchers Build $400 Self-Navigating Smart Cane

Stanford PhD candidate Michael John Raitor tests out the augmented cane, created with way-finding capabilities similar to those used in autonomous vehicles. | Andrew Brodhead

Using tools from autonomous vehicles, the research team from Mykel Kochenderfer's lab has built an augmented cane which helps people detect and identify obstacles, move around those object and follow routes both indoors and outdoors. The smart cane weighs only 3 pounds and can be built from off-the-shelf parts and free, open-source software for $400.