NewsHillsborough County

High school student from Lutz invents AI cane for the visually impaired

Ishanvi Sabniveesu of Lutz's AI-Enabled smart cane for the visually impaired
Add Tampa Bay 28 as a Google Preferred Source

LUTZ, Fla. — A High school sophomore from Lutz earned second place at the Invention Convention U.S. Nationals for inventing an AI-enabled smart cane for people with visual impairments.

Ishanvi Sabniveesu from Steinbrenner High School won second place for her invention, the "AI-Enabled Smart Cane for the Visually Impaired," which uses artificial intelligence to describe the surrounding environment to users through a Bluetooth earpiece.

The can features an AI camera that analyzes the user's surroundings and delivers spoken navigation guidance and obstacle alerts in real time.

“I wanted to build something that didn’t just detect obstacles — something that could understand the world the way a human eye does, for everyone, no matter where they live,” Sabniveesu said.

Sabniveesu has filed a patent application for her invention. She also founded an online nonprofit, Chronic Connect, that connects people with chronic illnesses to others with similar experiences and helps them find peer support.

Florida brain tumor patient says nearly $1 million in medical bills are now covered after insurance denial

Five months after an insurance fight over brain surgery, Broqsten Bunt says he is medically cleared and has a zero balance on nearly $1 million in billed care.

Brain surgery patients gets billed paid for after insurance denial