Melania Voloshynska, a bachelor’s student majoring in the Internet of Things, who studies at the Department of Computerized Automatic Systems, the Institute of Computer Technologies, Automation and Metrology, Lviv Polytechnic, lived with two blind women for two years as a child, and now has many such acquaintances. Communicating with them, the girl realized what challenges people with visual impairments face and how often they are injured due to obstacles on the road. So Melaniia decided to do her part to make their lives easier – that’s how the idea of a smart cane came about.
Melania presented the Smart Walking Cane project for the first time at the university startup competition and, on the advice of a teacher, joined the program «Supporting the development of youth entrepreneurship among IDPs», which was implemented by the Tech StartUp School, Lviv Polytechnic National University, with the support of the USAID HOVERLA Project. It was thanks to participation in this program that Melania got the opportunity to improve her prototype, show it to potential investors and receive a monetary award for the development of the project.
«The cane has a distance sensor at the bottom that detects whether there are stairs or curbs ahead, and the handle vibrates to tell the person about them. While testing the prototype, we discovered a problem that a person can forget where he/she has left the cane. Therefore, a sensor is built into the handle that reacts to the whistle and plays a melody so that it can be found. During my studies at the Tech Startup School, working with a technical mentor was especially valuable – he told me a lot about different types of electronics and how to work with them», says Melania Voloshynska.
The design is made very similar to a regular cane, so even if the battery runs out, the cane can still be used. In the near future, the team plans to produce 1,000 such canes.
«Thanks to the fact that we won a prize in the program supported by the USAID HOVERLA Project and received a prize fund from the Lviv Regional Military Administration, we managed to purchase more materials for making canes. We also plan to improve the product: we will make the case from fiberglass, add the function of determining the colour of traffic lights, etc. Working on cane is my hobby, which I can do all day, and I really want to scale this project», says the girl.
After completing the program, Melania continued to develop her startup – and already in November 2023 she won $4,000 from the IT Meets Startup organization.
«I dream that more attention is paid to the inclusion issues and convenient space for the blind at the level of the entire country», adds Melania Voloshynska.
Almost 600 schoolchildren and students from 10 communities of Lviv region successfully completed training in the program «Supporting the development of youth entrepreneurship among IDPs», which was implemented by the Tech StartUp School, Lviv Polytechnic National University, with the support of the USAID HOVERLA Project. Participants improved their skills in creative thinking, IT basics, biotechnology, robotics, drone management, and 3D modeling. They also developed and presented 116 startup ideas to potential investors. The winners received a cash prize for the development of their business. The program was another step towards creating a new generation of entrepreneurs and innovators in Ukraine.