E-commerce marketplace Snapdeal on Monday said it has partnered IIT Delhi and Phoenix Medical Solutions to sell 'SmartCane' online, priced at Rs. 3,500.
SmartCane is an advanced version of the white cane used by visually-challenged people and ensures independent mobility and safety of the user.
As a part of the partnership, potential donors can also choose to donate SmartCane via Snapdeal Sunshine platform, where the product will be shipped directly to NGO partner Saksham that works for empowering persons with blindness.
(Also see: Affordable tech for the differently-abled: A sign of the changing times?)
Using ultrasonic ranging, SmartCane helps predict above knee-level obstacles and therefore, ensures safety against collisions. The device is already used by nearly 10,000 people in the country.
"We are confident that this product will be well received and our customers will also come forward to donate SmartCane to NGOs working with persons with visual impairment," Snapdeal Senior Vice President (Partnerships and Strategic Initiatives) Tony Navin said in a statement.
M Balakrishnan, Professor at IIT Delhi and Smartcane Team Lead said the product was initiated as a class project.
"It is an outcome of several years of joint effort of academia, industry and user community to make in India an affordable device that conforms to international quality standards. The online availability of such assistive technology products will go a long way in empowering persons with visual disabilities," he added.
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