The visually impaired are getting a helping hand (or helper belt, as it were) from Korean startup AI Guided. At CES in Las Vegas, the company showed off some pretty neat tech that includes optical and Lidar technology, along with the device’s AI-based calculations for obstacle identification and navigation assistance.
The company claims it’s capable of advanced object identification to help keep pedestrians safe, in addition to using light haptic feedback to help with wayfinding. The entire system is worn on a belt, leaving users hands free.
The upcoming AI-Guided Guidi product shown at CES 2023. Image credit: Haje Kamps / TechCrunch
The company is quite early in its journey, starting initial work on the product in January 2020, with the first prototypes to be built in mid-2021 and a planned shipping date of October 2023. There’s no word yet on pricing, but the company tells us it hopes to be able to include 8 hours of battery life and full autonomy even in situations where Wi-Fi or cellular data isn’t available.
There’s not a lot of information or details available to date, but as soon as we saw the promotional image the company has – with the guide dog standing in for it on the side – we knew we had to share it as one of the weird and wonderful things we find while walking around the show floors of the world’s largest consumer electronics show.
The company told TechCrunch that it plans to launch an Indiegogo campaign to bring Guidi to market later this month.
Read more about CES 2023 on TechCrunch
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