Fujitsu has developed the first “smart walking stick.”
The company presented its “Next Generation Cane” at the 2013 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this week. The device can monitor vital functions and give directions.
Designed to accommodate Japan’s aging population, the walking cane has built-in GPS, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and a cellular radio. The top of the elliptical handle features an LCD display for directions. Users can upload a route to the device and the cane will provide directions. When the user approaches a turn, a red exclamation mark appears, the cane vibrates and large, green arrows on the display show which way to turn.
The device can also monitor heart rate, via a heart rate monitor built into the handle, and also monitors body heat.
The prototype displayed at MWC has a battery life of about two or three hours, which is not super practical, but the company has not said whether it will actually release the device. Fujitsu will probably improve on the cane’s battery life before the device is released. We estimate that two or three hours is just long enough for grandpa to walk to the store to pick up those cigarettes and bacon that grandma won’t let him have.
The “Next Generation Cane” also streams data to a host computer, updating family members or caretakers of location and body functions. This will be great for making sure grandpa is doing alright, but terrible for getting rid of grandpa’s belief that the Russians are watching him.
For more on what we believe is the best device from MWC 2013, check out Engadget.
