Smartcane is a technology firm based in New Dehli, India that is looking to give back to people who struggle with sight. The video posted below demonstrates the new innovative technology that uses a sonar stick to help the blind “see” what they could never with a normal cane. The new Smartcane will be able to help provide information about objects above the knee! At first glance it seems that this is just a normal breakthrough in science that will come at a high price, but Technological Responsibility wouldn’t be covering such an exciting story if there wasn’t some corporate social responsibility behind it. Smartcane will be retailing for the extraordinary price of 3,000 rupees, or $50! To give some comparison, there is another company based out of South Korea that has developed a similar product known as Ultracane, but that product retails for $1,000, placing “it firmly out of reach of many in developing countries” (Senthilingam 1). Smartcane is looking to help those who are not only financially elite, but also those less fortunate as well. “The goal for Balakrishnan and his team, however, had been a low-cost technology to provide independence to the 15 million people estimated to be blind in India, where blindness is a national health priority” (Senthilingam 1). It is amazing to see a company looking to help a country in desperate need for a health issue that has been noted as a national health crisis in India.
According to Professor M. Balakrishnan from the Indian Institute of Technology, the mind behind the company, “there are 5 million people estimated to be blind who are of productive age and need independent mobility to work or go to school and be part of the mainstream” (1). The above video was made to show that a college student shouldn’t suffer just because they cannot see. Currently, Smartcane is only in production for the Indian public, but it is the plan of the company to gain 50 partners and “bring independence to all the visually impaired people not only in India, but eventually beyond the country to benefit other low-income populations” (Senthilingam 1).
My personal opinion is that more companies should act like Smartcane. They are not profit focused at all, and are solely looking to benefit the public. If more companies addressed national crisis with the mindset of Smartcane, less people would be suffering, and many doors of potential would be unlocked. It almost seems selfless what Smartcane is doing, and that is more than commendable. This is clearly a company that is focused on giving back with CSR firmly apart of their business plan.
For more information about Smartcane, visit their website here. Special thanks to Meera Senthilingam, a writer from CNN who provided a great article about Smartcane’s plan. Look to CNN to see the full article about Smartcane.
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