Have you ever tripped on a curb or stubbed your toe on the sidewalk? Just us? Sometimes the world can be a difficult place to navigate even when you have perfect vision. Now, imagine trying to navigate the world if you’re visually impaired or blind.

Some people who are visually impaired may use a cane to try to avoid bumping into things, or they might have a service dog that is trained to make sure they avoid danger. Now there is a high-tech option to help people who are visually impaired or blind.

Imagine having a pair of shoes that could alert you if you were about to encounter an obstacle like a curb, a parked car, a fellow pedestrian or really, anything else. Think of it like a sensor on a car that alerts you if there’s someone in your blind spot, or if you’re too close to another vehicle or the side of the road.

An Austrian company called Tec-Innovation has created a pair of shoes with a built-in sensor that will alert visually impaired people via a sound or vibration when an obstacle is detected. This new product is called InnoMake, and the sensor can detect obstacles as far as 4 meters away.

The sensor fits into a special slot within the shoes, and it includes a rechargeable battery that can last up to a week before it needs to be recharged. When the battery runs low, it can be fully charged in just three hours.

While a smartphone is not required in order to use the shoes, when someone purchases a pair of InnoMake shoes, the InnoMake app is included at no additional charge. Within the app, a user can make changes to how the product works, such as adjusting how far away from objects the user should be when he or she is alerted. The maximum distance is 4 meters, and the minimum distance is half a meter.

As if sensing obstacles wasn’t enough, the sensor has even more features. It  is designed to be water-resistant so that the technology can be used without worry in rainy or wet conditions. In addition, when a user chooses to use the Intelligent mode, the sensor can tell when the user is sitting down and automatically deactivates until the user stands up and starts walking.

There are several shoe stores in Austria where these shoes can be tried on before purchase, but they are also available to order online. 

These new shoes with built in sensors are truly innovative, and, for some people, they could truly be life-changing. Watch the video below to see how they work in the real world.