Today’s Solutions: May 14, 2025

Austrian company Tec-Innovation has collaborated with Austria’s Graz University of Technology (TU Graz) to design an intelligent shoe called “InnoMake.” This shoe is designed to help the blind, visually impaired, and elderly conveniently and safely navigate their everyday lives.

The shoe is decked out with a built-in warning system and battery, which are mounted to the front of the shoe in a waterproof and dust-resistant casing. The battery can last for up to one week, depending on how much they are used, and can be fully recharged within three hours. The entire setup includes:

  • Distance sensors
  • Sensors for detecting foot movements
  • A vibration unit
  • An ultra-bright LED
  • A processing unit
  • A wireless connection to a smartphone

When the shoe detects obstacles located up to four meters in the path of the wearer, the wearer is alerted through acoustic, visual, or vibrational signals. The shoe’s LED light is designed to transmit visual impulses and can help light the way in the dark. The shoe will also vibrate so that the user can feel when an obstacle is coming up. Finally, the acoustic feedback is provided by a smartphone.

The next step for the InnoMake intelligent shoe is to develop a camera-based AI image recognition version. This version will require scientists to develop deep-learning algorithms that analyze the camera images to identify areas that are safe for walking.

The team will also collect data while wearing the shoe to funnel this intelligence into a street view navigation map for people who are blind or visually impaired.

Source Image: Tec-Innovation

Solutions News Source Print this article
More of Today's Solutions

New vagus nerve stimulation treatment shows 100 percent PTSD recovery in earl...

BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM For millions of people living with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), effective treatments can be elusive, and full recovery ...

Read More

Ancient humans may have used sunscreen to survive deadly solar radiation

BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM With summer around the corner and UV levels on the rise, sunscreen is about to be a seasonal ...

Read More

Germany takes a green step: legalizing cannabis use sparks debate and solutions

Germany's parliament, backed by Chancellor Olaf Scholz's coalition, enacted legislation legalizing cannabis for personal use. This judgment places Germany within a narrow group of ...

Read More

Common weight loss drug may be the solution we’ve been waiting for in c...

A revolutionary study presented at the European Congress of Obesity (ECO) reveals that semaglutide, which is found in popular weight loss drugs like Wegovy ...

Read More