10146189Clinically Validating and Delivering WeWALK’s Next Generation Navigation Aid for Visually Impaired PeopleActiveCollaborative R&DInnovate UK**Empowering Vision-Impaired Individuals: Transforming Lives with Cutting-Edge Technology** 43 million people globally, including 340,000 in the UK, live with blindness. 2 million people in the UK suffer from moderate-to-severe visual impairment (VI), affecting individuals' ability to navigate independently and safely and significantly impacting wellbeing: * **Higher Risk of Injury:** Visually impaired individuals (VIIs) face double the risk of falls and injuries. * **Mental Health Challenges:** VIIs are twice as likely to experience depression. * **Social Isolation & Loneliness**: 63% of VIIs suffer from social isolation and loneliness. * **Employment & Education:** VIIs face barriers to work and education, with only a quarter of VIIs in employment. **WeWalk: Leading the Way in Assistive Technology** WeWalk, in collaboration with Imperial College London and the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), is at the forefront of creating assistive technology for VIIs. WeWalk's Smart Cane (a traditional white cane incorporating sensors and linked to a smartphone app) has already positively impacted over 5,500 VIIs, by helping with navigation and above-ground obstacle detection. It was recognized as TIME's "Best Invention", Amazon's Startup of the Year 2021, and the King's Award for Innovation. **A Vision for the Future: Introducing SAW-Navigation-System** But WeWalk's mission goes further. WeWalk has designed a new product: the Situationally Aware Wearable Navigation System (SAW-Navigation-System). This cutting-edge wearable incorporates advanced technologies such as computer vision and AI, providing real-time integrated object detection, navigation, and feedback. SAW-Navigation-System promises a leap in situational awareness for VIIs, making the product attractive to a broader spectrum of VII users (both moderate and severe) including the elderly (of whom 1-in-5 experience sight loss after 75), transforming their ability to confidently navigate complex environments. **Pathway To Mass Adoption: Gold-Standard Clinical Trials** This research project will produce 20-30 prototype units of the SAW-Navigation-System to conduct a clinical trial. It will assess impacts on users (by testing for increases in wellbeing, mobility and independence, and reduction in risk of falling) and provide the NHS with evidence of these benefits. This will open the potential of NHS and insurers offering the SAW-Navigation-System, paving the way for WeWalk's international expansion opportunities. **Why Public Investment Matters** Innovate UK's support will help WeWalk bring to market technology to improve the lives of the elderly and VIIs. It will position the UK as a global leader in VI innovation, leveraging top technology talent, a leading university, and the charity sector, representing a beacon of hope for millions.