Jim’s Impressions of the Smart Cane 2
“I am very pleased with it, very happy with the unit itself,” Jim said. “The obstacle detection is great, you can turn it off and turn it back on just by the button, which I like. It makes it easier for when I get in the crowd and it’s going beep, beep, beep, beep, beep all the time. Then I can turn it off, and turn it back on when we’re out doing our walk. Another way I use obstacle detection is when I know I’m coming up behind someone and can hear them. I’ll deliberately turn the cane to the right so it picks up a fence or a hedge, and it starts going beep, beep, beep, beep, beep. That sound lets the people in front know that someone is behind them, so they realize I’m coming.”
He added that while he sometimes prefers using his mobile app directly to choose destinations from his saved places, the cane’s navigation features still guide him effectively: “I love the accessibility to access things with the phone in my pocket. It’s got me just about to the door in all the locations we have.”
Jim clearly noticed improvements with the new version:
- “The old one was so big. Anybody with a small hand would have trouble with it. The new one feels like a regular cane—it fits the hand.”
- “With the new cane, recalibration happens much quicker than before. I may walk half a block, and it adjusts right away.”
- “It’s the ease of using it more than anything, and the ease of it recalibrating and rechecking everything.”
He also highlighted a few functions that make a difference in his daily use:
- Explore: “We like to ask, ‘Where’s the nearest coffee shop?’ It gives us a new place to walk to, sometimes places we never thought about.”
Flashlight: “The light is very handy, especially when we walk through a tunnel under the main highway.”
A Believer in WeWALK
Jim is one of WeWALK’s strongest supporters and continues to stand behind its mission with great dedication. As he put it:
“I’m a firm believer in it. I was at a city program here in Kelowna representing the Canadian Institute for the Blind, talking about WeWALK. I’m still very active in that process. I believe firmly that it will work, and I’ll continue supporting it.”
There’s always room for improvement in technology and we’re committed to working with users like Jim to gather feedback and keep making Smart Cane 2 better. It’s thanks to Jim’s support and the voices of the sight loss community worldwide, that we’re able to keep pushing WeWALK’s to new heights. Thank you, Jim, for letting us share your story and for being such an important part of the WeWALK community!
