Japanese technology developer Fujitsu has designed a walking stick with built-in sat-nav to help elderly people find their way while also monitoring heart rate and temperature.
The prototype device, shown off at theMobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona last week, is equipped with various connection technologies such as GPS, 3G and Wi-Fi and has an LED display on top of the handle.
The Next Generation Cane can also be tracked online and is able to send an email should it seem the user has fallen over.
The ‘smart stick’ sends data back to a computer with the user’s location and additional information such as heartbeat.
The device can automatically contact emergency services as well.
Fujitsu has developed the device for the elderly although they envision it to be of use to any other vulnerable people as well. There has not been a set release date for the cane.
