AI-assisted blind glasses and smart guide dogs are accelerating their implementation
Technology helps blind people get on the road; legal and emotional shortcomings need to be filled
At intersections with constant traffic, they hesitate and dare not take a step; their destination is clearly close at hand, but because they cannot see their surroundings, they can only go around in circles... This is a scene that happens repeatedly in the daily lives of the 17.32 million visually impaired people in our country.
Now, technology is trying to break this dilemma. The "Catalogue of Rehabilitation Assistive Devices in China (2026 Edition)" adds categories related to intelligent assistive devices for visual impairment; Hangzhou Tongxing Technology's "Puongzhe" AI blindness-assisting glasses, Beijing Saibowan's "Dayi" guide robot dog, and Chengdu Chuqian Technology Intelligent guide dogs and other products jointly developed with Mianyang Wuba Robot Technology Co., Ltd. have emerged one after another; a senior care center in Shenyang and Mianyang Shangma Story Commercial Street have launched pilot intelligent guide dogs... Technology to assist the blind is moving from concept verification to practical application.
However, the reporter found that there are still challenges in helping the blind through technology. After experiencing it, some consumers said that the emotional companionship function of guide dogs will be difficult to replicate by machines in the short term. Facing multiple thresholds such as technical limitations, regulatory gaps and lack of emotion, AI still has a long way to go to help blind people.
AI assistive glasses, smart guide dogs
Technological products to assist the blind are accelerating their implementation
"Small pupils, small pupils, help me identify the things in front of me." On September 4, at the 2026 China International Welfare Expo and China International Rehabilitation Expo at the National Convention Center in Beijing, Liang Yong (pseudonym), a salesperson at Hangzhou Tongxing Technology Co., Ltd., demonstrated to reporters how to use AI-assisted blindness glasses. "You can think of it as a 'visual version of a hearing aid.'" Liang Yong said, "Hearing aids amplify inaudible sounds and send them to your ears. This pair of glasses recognizes invisible things and reads them to you. What you see is what you read." He said that the blind-assisted glasses capture the road conditions, obstacles and text information ahead through dual cameras, and convert them into voice broadcasts through visual algorithms, allowing the visually impaired to obtain external information in real time.
"Slide the frame with your right hand to switch functions, and double-click to enter the function page." With the help of Liang Yong, the reporter put on glasses to experience it. "Xiaotong, Xiaotong, what is in front of me?" As soon as he finished speaking, the glasses accurately described: "There is a mobile phone in front of me, and the screen of the mobile phone shows that it is recording..."
In addition to identifying objects in front of you, these glasses can also identify pedestrians, vehicles, traffic lights, street signs and obstacles when walking outdoors, and provide real-time voice guidance. It also has a reading function: take a photo and read the text on the photo. Drug instructions, menus, express delivery orders, books...these are information that is easy for ordinary people but used to be a huge obstacle for the visually impaired, and is now being solved one by one.
In addition to AI-assisted glasses, smart guide dogs are also being used as a supplement to traditional guide dogs, attracting attention from the visually impaired. In our country, there is about one visually impaired person in every 80 people. However, according to the China Disabled Persons' Federation, there are only about 410 guide dogs in service nationwide.
"The number of guide dogs is too small. This is our original intention of making intelligent guide dogs." Nie Peng, public relations officer of Chengdu Touchgan Technology brand, told reporters. The International Guide Dog Federation stipulates that only if more than 1% of the visually impaired people own and use guide dogs, it can be considered as a "universal guide dog". In other words, theoretically China needs about 170,000 guide dogs.
Faced with this huge market gap, domestic companies have realized product sales, and "Dayi" developed by Beijing Cybervan is one of them. Zhang Sheng, the person in charge of Beijing Saibowan's "Dayi" intelligent guide dogs, said that the company's intelligent guide dogs are divided into four-legged and wheeled versions. "The wheeled version cannot walk on steps and stairs, and people have to carry the machine to climb stairs; the four-legged version can climb steps and stairs on its own." Not only that, the back of the four-legged version also supports the installation of a customized storage basket with a maximum load of about 10 kilograms, which can help users share their belongings. According to Zhang Sheng, more than 200 units have been installed across the country, concentrated in first- and second-tier cities.
Zhang Sheng said that compared with living guide dogs, the advantage of robot dogs lies in their perception capabilities. "It can have the ability to sense surroundings. When it sees information or obstacles in front of it, it will be transmitted to the user by voice. The information the user gets will be more accurate and comprehensive." In addition, the intelligent guide dog only needs to be charged, while the living guide dog needs to be taken care of. When fully charged, it can walk continuously for 4 to 6 hours, and it can be fully charged in one and a half hours.
Also aiming at the smart guide track, Chengdu Chuqian Technology’s products are still in the stage of field testing and waiting for large-scale delivery. Nie Peng told reporters that his company's smart guide dogs are expected to deliver 2,000 units by the end of the year. This number is close to five times the total number of living guide dogs currently in service in the country.
Nie Peng said that unlike traditional living guide dogs, the advantage of intelligent guide dogs is that they can identify details such as home environment and community environment that cannot be covered by large maps. "It is a complete set of intelligence in itself, and does not require additional linkage with mobile phones." Nie Peng demonstrated that users put on bone conduction headphones and directly give voice instructions, such as "Take me to the supermarket outside the community to buy water." It can rely on public maps and superimpose local environment algorithms to independently plan routes and lead the way.
in the foreseeable future
Guide dogs still play an irreplaceable role
So, can AI assistive glasses and smart guide dogs completely replace living guide dogs?
Guo Jiale, a visually impaired person, said frankly after experiencing smart guide dogs in the technology exhibition area of the Zhongguancun Forum: "The biggest problem with current electronic guide dogs is that they are not flexible enough." She gave an example: "If there is a very narrow place in front of me, my guide dog will judge whether I can go through it and use its body to prompt me to turn sideways. But the robot dog does not have these behaviors, it will only follow the program." She pointed out that smart guide dogs are not smart enough to deal with non-fixed road conditions and move obstacles.
Not only that, guide dogs can sense and comfort human emotions, and can establish emotional bonds with the visually impaired. "Emotionally speaking, I need a guide dog, maybe 60% for walking and 40% for emotional needs." Guo Jiale said, "It is our family and our companionship. This emotional support is very important because we are still relatively lonely." She has rational expectations for intelligent guide dogs. "I hope technology can be faster, and faster. But I also hope that when designing these products, developers can truly understand our needs - not just the need to walk, but also the need for emotion, and the need for dignity."
The machine is already on the road
The real test questions are still at hand
In addition, no matter how smart the machine is, it cannot avoid the threshold of reality. The gaps in regulations and standards have become a big obstacle on the road to the popularization of intelligent guide dogs. "Can they get on a plane? I can't say, because there is no accurate system to support it now." Faced with a reporter's question, Nie Peng replied that living guide dogs are supported by the "Barrier-free Environment Construction Law of the People's Republic of China" and can legally take public transportation such as airplanes and subways. However, as smart guide dogs are electrified machines, the corresponding national standards and regulations are still blank.
Even more troublesome is that once an accident occurs after large-scale civilian use, the definition of rights and responsibilities will also face a legal vacuum. The reporter found that according to the relevant provisions of the current "Road Traffic Safety Law of the People's Republic of China", smart guide dogs are not currently legal means of transportation, and there is a legal gap in the use of smart guide dogs on public roads. In addition, smart guide dogs need to continuously collect surrounding environment and user data during operation. Supporting issues such as how to protect data privacy, whether exclusive insurance can be purchased, and whether after-sales repair outlets are sufficient are also in the exploratory stage and have become practical obstacles that restrict its large-scale implementation.
Despite its limitations, the gears of technological aid for the blind are already turning. Yuan Shuai, deputy director of the Investment Department of the China Urban Development Research Institute, believes that guide dog robots relying on mature artificial intelligence technology have no restrictions on the breeding cycle. Once the technology matures and mass production is achieved, enough products can be produced in a short time, and the cost will gradually decrease with the expansion of mass production, making it affordable for more ordinary visually impaired families.
What’s more important is that the spring breeze at the policy level is protecting this track. In July 2026, the State Council Disability Work Committee issued the "15th Five-Year Plan for the Protection and Development of Disabled Persons", emphasizing "strengthening the transformation and application of scientific and technological achievements to assist the disabled", "implementing artificial intelligence + services for the disabled, strengthening digital intelligence empowerment and ethical protection for the disabled", and "guiding various innovative entities to develop a new generation of intelligent walking aids, guides for the blind, and hearing aids".
It is undeniable that AI blind-assisting products provide more protection and choices for visually impaired people to travel independently. However, in the initial stage of the development of AI-based blind assisting products, only by facing up to the limitations of technology and improving the gaps in regulations and supporting systems can technology truly serve every family that needs it without any worries.
