Austrian company Tec-Innovation recently unveiled smart shoes that use ultrasonic sensors to help people suffering from blindness or vision impairment to detect obstacles up to 4 meters away.

Known as InnoMake, the smart shoe aims to become an alternative to the decades-old walking stick that millions of people around the world depend on to get around as safely as possible. The currently available model relies on sensors to detect obstacles and warns the wearer via vibration and an audible alert sounded on a Bluetooth-linked smartphone. That sounds impressive enough, but the company is already working on a much more advanced version that incorporates cameras and artificial intelligence to not only detect obstacles but also their nature.

“Not only is the warning that I am facing an obstacle relevant, but also the information about what kind of obstacle I am facing. Because it makes a big difference whether it’s a wall, a car or a staircase,” Markus Raffer, one of the founders of Tec-Innovation, told TechXplore.

“Ultrasonic sensors on the toe of the shoe detect obstacles up to 4 meters away. The wearer is then warned by vibration and/or acoustic signals. This works very well and is already a great help to me personally,” Raffer, himself visually impaired, added.

The current version of the InnoMake shoe is already available for purchase on the Tec-Innovation website, for €3,200 (US$3,882) per pair.

The advanced system is integrated in the front of the shoes, in a waterproof and dustproof case. It is powered by a heavy-duty battery that can last for up to one week, depending on use. The battery can be charged in just three hours, using a USB cable.

The next step for Tec-Innovation is to use the data collected by its system to create a kind of street view navigation map for visually impaired people.

“As it currently stands, only the wearer benefits in each case from the data the shoe collects as he or she walks. It would be much more sustainable if this data could also be made available to other people as a navigation aid,” computer scientist Friedrich Fraundorfer explained.

Words to Learn 相关词汇

【替代品】 tìdàipǐn alternative something which can be chosen instead

【障碍】Zhàng’ài obstacle something that impedes progress or achievement

奥地利公司Tec-Innovation近期推出了一款智能鞋，可以通过超声波传感器帮助盲人或视力障碍者探测到四米远的障碍物。

这款名为InnoMake的智能鞋旨在替代几十年来全球数百万人赖以安全活动的拐杖。目前能买到的这款鞋子依靠传感器来探测障碍物，并通过蓝牙智能手机发出振动和铃声来警告穿着者。听上去够酷的了，不过该公司已经开始研发包含摄像头和人工智能技术的升级版鞋子，不仅可以探测到障碍物，还可以检测出是何种障碍物。

Tec-Innovation公司的创始人之一马库斯•拉费尔告诉科技媒体TechXplore说：“这款鞋子不但会警告你前方有障碍物，还可以告诉你是何种障碍物。因为墙壁、车和楼梯这些障碍物之间差别很大。”

拉费尔本人就有视力障碍，他补充道：“鞋尖上的超声波传感器可以探测到四米远的障碍物。穿着者会收到振动或铃声警告。这款鞋效果很好，对我本人帮助很大。”

目前这款InnoMake鞋子在Tec-Innovation官网上可以买到，单价3200欧元（约合3882美元）。

这套高级系统就安置在鞋尖处，配有防水防尘保护壳。支持系统的高能电池续航时间可达一周，具体时长依据使用情况而定，用USB 数据线充电三个小时就能充满。

Tec-Innovation公司的下一步是利用该系统收集的数据为视力障碍者打造一款街景导航地图。

计算机科学家弗里德里希•弗蓝多佛解释道：“就目前而言，只有穿着者才能在行走时获得鞋子收集到的数据。如果其他人也可以获得这些导航数据，功能性将会大大提高。”

(chinadaily.com.cn)