A partnership between Snapdeal, Phoenix Medical Solutions and IIT-Delhi, has made the SmartCane more readily available online. The product will be available for a purchase price of Rs. 3,500.
The SmartCane is an intuitive and advanced walking-stick for the visually impaired that enables them to avoid walking into obstacles. The new device uses ultrasonic resonance to detect knee-length obstacles that lie in its path, alerting the user about a potential threat.
According to Mr. M. Balakrishnan, Lead on the SmartCane Project and a professor with IIT-Delhi, the product is an outcome of a classroom project that has been improved by academics, industry experts and user feedback.
SmartCanes are currently being used by over 10,000 visually impaired people around the country. Its availability online will help provide a widened reach to the product. Snapdeal has also encouraged donors to come forward and donate a SmartCane to someone in need. These donations shall be sent across to Saksham, an NGO that aids the visually impaired.
Such aid-products are usually manufactured outside India, and their prices rise up to 200% by the time an Indian marketer imports them. The SmartCane is both designed and made within the country itself, making it far more monetarily accessible to the local masses, hence allowing it to be used by anyone in need.
In order to donate a SmartCane to Saksham, you will need to go and make an offering through Snapdeal’s social outreach portal, Snapdeal Sunshine. The portal supports many causes including education to the underprivileged, aid to the needy and support to girl children.
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