Riya Karumanchi’s grandmother is visually impaired. She struggled to navigate through her own home, which caught Riya’s attention and set her on a path of innovation. She came to the realization that the primary tool used by visually impaired individuals known as the white cane had barely changed in the last century, so she set out to change that.

Riya had always been extremely intelligent and motivated throughout her childhood – teaching herself how to code in the fourth grade and participating in countless youth innovation programs in Toronto. In talking to many visually impaired, she noticed a common trend in regard to the white cane: it was effective at identifying obstacles on the ground, but users were still vulnerable to things like errant branches and fallen twigs.

She knew that there had to be a better way and began working on a new technology that would help the visually impaired dubbed: SmartCane. SmartCane uses advanced ultrasonic sensors to identify a wide variety of obstacles and alert the user with vibrations.

With the help of four employees, Riya has raised over $85,000 towards her cause. She says: “Instead of [building] a company that has a valuation of a billion dollars, it’s the person that can impact a billion people,” she explains. “It’s ambitious, but that’s my goal.”

Riya Karumanchi has shown that the need for innovation is everywhere and if you put in the work necessary, success will follow.