20:13, 18 January 2026

Russian High School Students Build a Smart Cane and a Device to Monitor Joint Stress

Students in Moscow’s pre-professional programs are developing practical assistive technologies—ranging from a low-cost smart cane for blind users to a wearable system that tracks joint load in real time.

Moscow high school students are building real-world technologies as part of pre-professional classes and specialized education tracks, according to the city portal mos.ru. Among the latest projects are a smart cane for visually impaired people and a device designed to monitor stress on joints during movement.

From Classrooms to Assistive Tech

A graduating student at School No. 2087, Yaroslav Olenin, designed a smart cane aimed at blind users. Similar devices already exist, but Olenin focused on making his version more affordable.

“It’s a wooden cane equipped with a distance sensor and a microcomputer,” Olenin said. “Blind people usually navigate by tapping the surface. In my cane, the sensor is placed closer to the handle and warns the user about obstacles above ground level or the roadway.”

At School No. 2065, Anna Dudkina developed a different kind of assistive device—and won the Start in Medicine conference with it. Her project monitors load on joints and was inspired by personal experience.

“After I injured the menisci in my knee, doctors advised me to reduce physical activity,” Dudkina said. “But I love running, skiing, and skating. The question was how to keep track of myself and not push too far. That’s how the idea came up.”

Her prototype takes the form of sensor-equipped footwear. Embedded sensors measure movement speed, load, and leg rotation angles, then compare the data in real time with personalized benchmarks based on age, weight, and height. If the readings exceed safe limits, the system emits an audio warning.

The device can operate for about seven hours on a single charge. Dudkina says her next step is to turn the prototype into a finished product.

Together, the projects illustrate how Moscow’s pre-professional education model is pushing students beyond theory. Instead of classroom-only exercises, teenagers are building assistive technologies shaped by cost constraints, usability, and real user needs—bringing school engineering projects closer to early-stage product development than traditional homework.

Medicine and healthcare