I've taken the next step and pre-ordered Glydance!

Does anyone know what colour this will be? If this is an alternative to a Whitestick I'd hope it would be White so other people would understand what it was. Which probably means it is rainbow coloured lol.

Watched the video and on paper sounds amazing. Even states it can help with holes and steps. Presumably both up and down like say curb edges. My only worry is how would it cope with say overhead signs or even worse parallel railings. I.E not vertical ones like a gate but ones going from left to right above the ground. They are so thin would this pick them up. Apart from that I'm almost convincing myself to try it.

I am very tentative about this, because the features I really want, (mainly intelligent map navigation,) are future plans and that's really what I need to travel successfully, but I've put in a deposit, too. I'm comforted by the fact that it will be possible to get a refund--either of the deposit or the whole device itself--if I see a reason to hold off or change my mind, but this company has been very transparent and community engaged, and a lot of what I've heard is very impressive. Generally, I'm someone very cautious of the AI hype but I'm so curious and excited to see where this one will go. I really struggle with mental mapping/navigating in space and think this could be huge for that if they play their cards right.

Made my pre-order as well! I just couldn’t resist.

I did also. I haven't gotten any email receipt. I sure hope I didn't make a typo. ugg.
But anyways I hope it works out, and if not I am still glad to see someone trying to innovate past the "cane is all you need" mantra and I'll support accessibility advancing efforts as long as I can. Nothing against cane, I use it too. I just also am aware of its shortcomings through no fault of its own.
Oh, I also want the first level 5 self driving car. I better start saving. Or like Lottie says, sighted spouse happens along. lol.

I got to give these guys credit, their FAQ pages really extensive. Probably the best FAQ I’ve seen on any company website.
https://glidance.io/frequently-asked-questions/

This is the first device that kinda does interest me. I don't see much of a need for the glasses personally, but from someone who tried to self train a guide dog, and it didn't go incredibly well, but I was told by mobility instructors back in school, not to even consider a guide dog, because my O&M wasn't good enough. I adopted my dog from a local shelter, and she is very very smart, and some things she did super well, like learning the block for us to go on walks, guiding me to a seat in church, but she's a very nervous girl, gets very whiny when there's a lot going on around her, so I tried to work with her for over a year, tried anything and everything I could to train that out, even tried bringing rawhide sticks to keep her calm, but none of it worked, and finally just came to the conclusion that this was not fair. Some of the guiding she got spot on, but then other times, not so much, and other than the whining she was pretty well behaved, but it just got to be to much, and so she is much happier just spending her days chillin on the couch. But, that experience did open my eyes to the possibilities, and while I don't know that I would be approved by many schools for a guide dog, it was pretty cool to be able to leave the cane at home. So, having other options than the cane would indeed be nice, but I can't drop that kind of money. If I could pay for it, a bit at a time, I might consider, but to just drop that kind of money all at once, there's no way. As far as the looks of the thing, I don't know what it should look like. On one hand, I found that people were curious about the dog, especially when they found out that she was self trained, and she's so so loveable and sweet, so it was good attention. I do wonder how a device like this might be perceived based on what it looks like. On one hand, if it helps, a lot of people might not care what it looks like, but others of us very much don't want to draw the wrong kind of looks.

The comment below somehow double posted, please skip down to the next for my true thoughts. I couldn't find a delete.

Lottie, I think one thing that helps me feel confident in this is that it isn't pulling us along, we are always in control. That means if I was ever in a position where I thought it was steering me wrong I could just course correct it myself, rather than being dragged into a dangerous situation.

Justin, I know this is not an option for everyone, but I wonder if there are any ways you might take to be able to split the payment into pieces? I Could not afford the sum they'll be asking for in July all in one chunk, but I have an app called Zip--I think it's on AppleVis somewhere actually--that lets me divide payments into 4 or 8, and that is how I plan to make this work. There are a few other systems that will do this as well, Paypal credit is the other well known one I'm somewhat familiar with. Again, I totally understand if it's just flatly not possible--if this had come down the pipe a year ago I'd actually be right there with you in being completely and utterly unable to afford it no matter how it was split, I just thought I'd mention in case it might be of some use if you'd like to get onboard. You do not have to answer this question, btw, I'm not asking you to talk publicly about your finances I just couldn't figure out a better way to word the beginning of this post :)

I got an Ara, formerly Strap, and sort of knew what I was in for but it still disappointed me. It's frustrating because I'd love a cane replacement that gives the same or more information but, for me, this isn't it. If I have to keep a hand occupied anyhow over half of what I want is already gone. Like at that point why not just use a cane? Still I hope we get more involved in the space, surely we could do better than the cane which, yeah, I use every day and appreciate for what it is.

Hi, this technology is interesting. Can you tell me how it would cope with traffic lights? Does it let you cross when it's green or fails? And if for example I take the bus does it tell me which stop to get off at?

It's out of my budget. I'll be interested to read reviews on it once it's released next year.

Sorry to hear about your O&M experience. Truth be told, that teacher did not sound very encouraging, but maybe thats just me. Kudos on attempting to train your own guide dog, that is impressive. Generally people have no idea just how much goes into that particular type of training, so again; kudos.

I miss my guide dog, had to retire him a couple years ago, and while I do not necessarily regret that decision, I absolutely hate cane travel. Would take my dog any day over the evil white cane of doom. Even if he is about 10 years old now and suffers from acute arthritis in his hips. 😬

Yeah, I actually got that same feedback from several instructors. I don't think they were trying to be negative or discouraging, but the thing is my mental mapping has never been the best, and especially in my younger days, I tended to rely heavily on landmarks, which I was told a dog would probably take me right around, so wouldn't be able to count on that kind of thing. I think that's why they felt a dog would not be a good fit. However, having had the experience it was absolutely amazing, and if I had gotten this dog a bit younger, and she hadn't gone through whatever trauma she may have experienced before going to the shelter and then to me, even though she is totally not the breed you would see for most guide dogs, I really think she could have done it. Smarts were definitely there, but she gets so nervous, and you can't really train that out.
Sorry to hear about your dog having to retire. Did they let you keep him around just as a pet, or did he have to be rehomed? That's a very tough decision to have to make.
Back to the original topic, while this device does indeed interest me, more than all the other AI stuff, I still don't quite know how I feel about it, because with a dog, there is also a very special bond that you won't get with technology. But, on the other hand, the device may be able to give you info that a dog never could.

I could have kept him, but I chose to adopt him out. He is living the life these days; lives in a house with 3 girls between middle school and college age, along with their parents. So he is happy (see: very pampered).

Regarding Glydance, I can kind of see the appeal here. Not everyone is capable, or otherwise wants to care for a service animal, and they take special attention and have certain needs. Plus there is the whole 'new technology' side of things, I mean, who doesn't want to be seen navigating the world in their state-of-the-art Glyde Dog.

See what I did there? 😀😇

Hope they will be waterproof. It's been tonking down all day here where I live in the UK and not being able to take my glidedog out would be unkind to it. Anyone for walkies!

Did I read it is $40 a month for the subscription?

Way too much. I think that, by the time this rolls around, thank you thank you... AI guides are going to be common place and a bit of cane craft will put you in better sted.

I realise I"m a bit of a pooper when it comes to new tech, but it does seem, especially in our corner of commerce there is a lot of unneeded tech being built filling the need, not for us, but for investors. I've said this before and though it is about apple, it holds true for the majority of businesses, they do not serve their customers, they serve stake holders, private or public. The end of 2025 is a very long way away. Best of luck to them, but I just imagine too many issues compared with a cane and smart glasses. There is a mechanical part to the system which is a point of failure, batteries, the inability for people to recognise it as an assisitve device compared with the cane, cobled roads, storage at destination... And so on.

Saying that, I'd like to be super wrong and its a total game changer and if so, I'll buy one and be whizzing down to the local baker to buy my slice of humble pie.

I absolutely love this idiom. Is a regional thing?

I only know this because of a website that isn't that accessible.

Wow I never thought I'd be using BeMyEyes on the computer to let someone know about slang but here goes: The image shows a webpage from "Burnley Slang" with the phrase "Tonkin' it down" prominently displayed in large white text on a bright pink background. Below the phrase, it provides a phonetic pronunciation "(taunk’n-et-dauwn)" and describes it as a dialect term chiefly used in Burnley, identifying it as a verb. The definition given is "rain fall," with an example sentence: "it was tonkin’ it down."

There is a sidebar on the left with a list of other slang terms, but the text is very faint and difficult to read due to low contrast against the white background.

To improve readability, consider increasing the contrast of the sidebar text by changing its color to something darker or adjusting the background color. This will make the text more legible.

This is so interesting, that part of the page was just a blank line to my screen reader, I OCRED it, then BeMeyesed it and got here.

If open AI doesn't go bust because of suing then this will be very interesting for us.

I can't wait to just turn on a video, ask it to focus on a part of the screen and go from there.

I just usine VOCR for that sort of thing. I think the chat GPT app on mac, whenever it is actually released, can do something similar. It can certainly take a screen shot anyway.

I do love it. Tonking it down. That's in the book.

Hi Ollie,

Brad may well be correct although I haven't lived there for 25 years. To be honest never really thought about it.

It is likely a matter of want vs need, followed immediately by do I really want to sell my kidney/first born/significant other to acquire this new innovation? 😀

I agree with brian, this sounds interesting but not everyone has the money to put down on a device that might not even do what they want.

Personally I'm interested in the mapping feature as I'd like to get outside.

Hi Lottie, I'm also a little surprised. On the other hand the main perk is to turn around and preorder it for another $799 on top of the $100. That did give me pause especially the notion of only 60 days to decide with another year of lead time. It's certainly a bit of a gamble. I think they have the best intentions and I so want it to work I'm willing to support them. I basically see it as their own twist on a KickStarter campaign. Nevertheless I'd put the probability of seeing this end up working out at 50/50.

I was definitely interested in joining the Beta, but looking at the US pricing and converting that to Canadian, the price is a little too steep for me.

The regular price, prior to the %40 discount comes up to $2,040, and after the discount, about $1,230, with $55/month for the subscription.

Do keep in mind that these aren't necessarily the actual price, I just converted the US pricing with today's rates and that's roughly the costs. I really hope that eventually, one could get one of these through some form of financial aid or grants or something along those lines.

I applaud them for putting something out there, it definitely has me intrigued, but I can't afford those prices.

Those who are able to snag one, please let us know how it performs, I really hope this product succeeds.

You jump to fast :)

You really didn't realise they'd want the money afterward?

You weren't going to pay £100 and get the thing :)

Not usually my style either, but it was one hell of a sales pitch so I’m in.

hi if we have to wait for the critical features like mapping just a way to in my humble opinion, screw the blind out of hundreds of dollars as per usual, all because we can't see seems like we'd get half a baked pie i'm afraid. no way even try it within the next year and you have to pre-order it just a way i reckon to take money and run!

I'll really check it out when the mapping is there.

One (1) slightly used kidney. Order now because supplies are limited.

Thank you. 😷

Couldn't agree more Lottie and yes keep us informed. I'm so tempted by this that user feedback may well make my decission easy.

No one is forcing you to keep us informed, you choose to do this.

Just like I choose to not be that interested, yet, check them out, no one is stopping you, but the internet isn't full of lotties, you need to remember that.

As excited as I am for the Glide and its potential, I think people who have concerns over prices, or AI and its stability, for that matter, have a right to be concerned and to voice those concerns. Yes, judging by the price tags of other assistive technologies Glide isn't terrible, but the fact remains that this is not an insignificant sum, and not everyone is able to get monetary help from the places where they live. They say they want this device to be accessible for everyone, and I do believe they have tried to cut the price back as much as possible, but the fact remains that this device, as it currently stands, is not equally accessible to everyone straight away. This isn't necessarily Glide's fault--the problem is complex and systemic and more than I have the energy to get into at present--but that doesn't change the fact that that's certainly a sticker shock, regardless of whether other devices are priced higher. I know very well the feeling of wanting or needing something I thought would be beneficial and literally being unable to get there due to lack of funds, and frankly even though I'm somewhat in a more comfortable situation now, it is because of timing, luck and some very, very careful math that I felt comfortable even tentatively placing down a deposit, and even then I'm still on the fence about whether I'll go through with the preorder itself.

As for doubts over the technology, those, too, are founded. It's always a risky move, asking for money when you only have prototypes. So much can go wrong, and on a user level, there is no guarantee of getting what you put your hard earned cash toward. Add AI into the mix--a useful tool, for certain, but a tool also filled with holucinations and missed information--and I can see why people might be really skeptical of backing something that will take over a year to come to fruition. All that to say, I don't think this is unnecessary or unproductive complaining, even if I am also personally very excited to see where this goes and have a lot of hope!

@Lottie, aren't those complaints just par for the course on a blind tech web site? It doesn't look like something that will help me all that much so I'm holding off, plus the finances are tight but I'm curious to hear your take. Maybe version 2 or 3 will be more my speed if they ever get that far.

You were all over this, what changed?

Now you're self concious about how it looks?

I'm in mind of one of those trolly bags that older people use to haul around teh boiled sweets, I assume, though pushed in front of you.

It sounds more like a university project than a product. I wonder what other form factor they could put this in though. Could we wear something like wrist straps that have haptics that interface with phone and glasses? I do love the ability to fold my cane down and drop it in my sling or poket, or even belt. I know we don't have that choice with a guide dog but they're cool for other reasons. My view is tech should vanish when not in use.

Lotty, I know you get grief on here for your see what sticks attitude. I personally really like it. It balances out miserable cynics like myself and Brad The Map Seeker. Don't change and I'm sorry that so many of us are so quick to come in and point out flaws. You're a risk taker and this community needs such people otherwise we'd be stuck in the past. It was only really your championing of the Meta glasses that got me to buy a pair, and I'm glad I did. So thank you for your tenacity.

The interesting thing about this form factor at least according to the FAQ is the wheels are part of the guiding, they steer, they brake. If you were to wear it you'd need to find a way to provide the info. And we're right back to the glasses and basically 100% audio, I'm sure you're bored with my last comment on audio-only solutions. As for how it looks, if it truly works especially the steering that'd easily balance out the look. If it doesn't work well who cares what it looks like. I have more concerns about the reliance on the cloud while navigating than the look. But some of this is yet unclear and probably being revised.

So, does this not guide itself? The way I read this was whilst you get feedback it actually steers itself round obsticles. In theory you could set it off and it could run round the block and come back to you. Or, are we sure that you get haptic feedback and you have to physically steer it yourself?

Well maybe not go out on its own because presumably you have to push but I believed it would automatically steer so you don't guide it, it guides you round things.

You seam quite against this now, that's fine, i'm just amused because of how for it you were a week or so ago.

What did you think it was?

As for vibrating, the haptics will be very quiet, I doubt anyone else nearby would hear them.

I get what you're saying about the cane, I've left mine at home once, I doubt i'll be doing that again.

I probably could, it would just feel a bit off.

I hope for your case you can get a refund.

Don't keep buying a unit you don't want.

Just cause you have the money doens't mean you must spend it, I like takeaway a bit to much and am learning that lesson myself.

From what I understand, you push it, it does not pull you. This means you would be able to go at your own speed, which I think is a draw for many people. It could not run round the block and come back because it doesn't have a full onboard motor. What it does have is control over its wheels, so it can, in fact, steer you, it just won't be pulling you like a parcel. Also, I, too am eagerly awaiting maps. If they say that maps are a very, very far out development I will almost certainly not be backing this device because this is what I really need for travel, but if it's only a few months...well I can work with that.

Well, from what I remember; the wheel of the device doesn't actually have a motor, you can go as fast or slow as you need to, it doesn't actually move from what I remember.

It stears some how, I'm assuming the wheels can swivvle in some way, and I believe the device is helled in one hand, I don't think you walk behind it like a zoomer frame.

As for the speaker, that actually makes me less interested, I'd be shocked if you couldn't connect a pair of bone conduction headphones to the device, if you can't and it's jabbering away; that could be very off putting for everyone.

@lotty, if you're interested; I believe they hold meatings of some kind over zoom, I joined one and found it wasn't for me but you might be interested.

I somehow don't see the point of having either a speaker or a mic in the handle if I'm using it as an assistive tech for travelling because of all the ambient noice around. And for some reason, I cannot imagine the way in which movement would happen if the wheel has no motor... unless someone has any kind of possible explanation?

From my understanding, Glide has a wheel on either side. The wheels are not powered so as you push the device forward, it applies breaking to either the left or right wheel. If it wants to guide you right, it breaks the right wheel and doesn’t break the left. You keep pushing forward so only the left wheel is able to rotate freely, the right has drag applied which makes the device turn toward the right. You also have the ability to steer the device by slightly rotating the handle you’re holding in a motion a little like screwing or unscrewing. This suggests the direction you’d like the glide to turn but it will only allow you to turn in that direction if it’s safe. From everything I’ve understood from glide themselves this is how steering is done but as I haven’t touched the device myself I can’t say with certainty.

Can I jump a tank of sharks?

I'm guessing you put in your destination before you go a'wandering therefore audio isn't needed. I think it simulates what you'd have with a guide dog, but that's really just a guess.

I think expecting the balance over a year before its launch is a bit stink. I know they need capital to develop the product, get manufacturing underway, but the rule of purchasing based on the features a product has now rather than a product might have, come is into play here. What happens if the project is cancelled? I'm very surprised, given the head dude is an x microsoft engineer, that there hasn't ben seed funding for this. This isn't throw away tech like the humane pin, a risk we're willing to roll the die on, it's a very expensive piece of assistive equipment that has to succeed or we're up a creek without a glidance.

I have heard about this and it is nice that this comes from a blind person rather than being something some random sighted person has come up with. As usual I have some mixed feelings. Firstly, I really, really want to try it. It sounds like it might be quite enjoyable to use.

However, I am not sure I would trust anything like this more than my cane, and I would worry that using it would reduce my cane skills - which are something I need more practice not less.

The subscription puts me off too. That's a lot of money. I get they have cloud costs. But that is another thing that worries me - how much is it reliant on the cloud, and therefore internet access?

When I was on holiday I was surprised the number of times my Meta Ray-bans told me that it couldn't help because I had no internet. Not sure exactly if this was always true - yesterday it said that and I had two bars of mobile so think it should have been able to cope. But if it was reliant on the cloud in any way beyond nice to haves then that is out for me. But maybe it's just the mapping stuff and not object detection.

I hate these massive discounts for a product you can't possibly make an informed decision about. I guess the kickstarter comments above are exactly right.

I also wonder how it will look to sighted people. In terms of - are they going to get out of my way or are they just going to look at me like I am a lunatic? I don't care if people think I look silly - that went with my sight - but it is helpful if people know that I am blind and not just on my way to a star wars fan convention.

I think the whole assistive tech space may look quite different by the time it is released. So tempting though the big discount is I will wait and see what happens.

I was super excited when I first heard about this, but pretty much dismissed it because I don't do all that much independent travel and it sounded as though it might be prohibitively expensive. For some reason, I told my mom about it, and she actually supported the idea of me trying to get involved with this project. So, this past Thursday, I took the plunge and made the $100 deposit. I'm a bit scared of having to pay the rest of the cost in a few months without even getting to test the device first, and it's even scarrier to think about paying that money now but not having anything to show for it until September of 2025. I most definitely need to read more on the web site, but from what I've understood so far, it does sound like our money is refundible if things don't work out. I really wish there would be a way to test it before spending so much money.
What makes me sad is that even five years ago or so, this is something my work place would have been all over. We had the opportunity to test the wewalk cane, which I was honestly very underwhelmed by, but it was nice to be able to check it out at the time. That's kind-a how I feel about this Glidance. I'd really enjoy checking it out first, but that doesn't seem all that likely the way things are at my workplace now. Anyway, I'm going to hope for the best; maybe it will make me feel brave enough to travel independently every once in a while. The $40 a month thing also has me concerned, but we'll just have to wait and see. As someone who hasn't found a way to justify the cost of smart glasses yet... I'm not sure what possessed me to deposit for the glidance, but I hope I won't regret it.

Well I mailed them with a couple of questions 4 days later no reply doesn't seem very good to me. If they don't even reply to mails what chance this will go smoothly.

Hi Lottie,

How and where did you learn about this? Is it something you can only find out about if you join the programme? Still thinking of joinging and if there was a beta programme that I could get on would certainly influence me more.