.lumen and the EIC Accelerator: Glasses That Guide the Blind
.lumen wants blind people to walk independently with a headset instead of a cane or guide dog. The company in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, built glasses based on what it calls Pedestrian Autonomous Driving, AI technology derived from the approach of self-driving cars, that guide the wearer along a safe path.
The European Innovation Council granted €2,165,829 towards a €3.09 million project that ran from November 2022 to October 2024, and the EIC Fund joined a €5 million round in January 2025. According to .lumen, the glasses are now a CE-marked medical device. In October 2025 Romania's national disability programme took more than 1,500 preorders in ten days, and in September 2026 .lumen said more than 1,100 blind people in over 40 countries had tested them.
Company file
- Legal entity
- SC Dotlumen SRL, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
- Product
- .lumen Glasses for the Blind (CE-marked medical device)
- Technology
- Pedestrian Autonomous Driving (PAD) AI
- Investors
- Catalyst Romania, EIC Fund, Tigrim Capital, SeedBlink crowd
- Recognition
- CES 2026 accessibility award; TUM Venture Labs Best MedTech 2026
- EIC project
- .lumen, 1 Nov 2022 to 31 Oct 2024, closed
- EIC funding
- Blended finance
Where .lumen Stands Today
In September 2026 .lumen won the post-certification category of the TUM Venture Labs healthcare competition, describing its glasses as "a CE-marked medical device" tested by more than 1,100 blind people in over 40 countries, and announced expansion to Japan with support from the Toyota Mobility Foundation. It won a CES 2026 accessibility award in January. The Romanian programme makes the glasses available free to users, and .lumen says Romania is "the first country in the world where glasses that guide the blind are made accessible on a large scale". The company also won an €11 million grant with partners in 2025 to develop autonomous delivery robots using its technology.
The uptake
Preorders and testers
Preorders through Romania's national programme in the first ten days, and blind people who have tested the glasses worldwide.
.lumen, October 2025 and September 2026.
The Technology: A Guide Dog in a Headset
.lumen calls its approach Pedestrian Autonomous Driving, and also applies it to delivery robots. The company ran what it called the largest clinical investigation of an assistive technology in Romania in 2023. Its first-generation glasses went through regulatory testing after the January 2025 round, and a second generation is in development.
Romania became "the first country in the world where glasses that guide the blind are made accessible on a large scale".
.lumen, October 2025What the EIC Project Promised, and What CORDIS Shows
The EIC project
The EU paid 70% of a €3.09M project
The .lumen project ran from November 2022 to October 2024. The award was blended finance; the EIC Fund joined the 2025 round.
CORDIS project 190143610. Values in € millions.
The project, ".lumen - Empowering the blind", aimed to bring the glasses to market. CORDIS lists it as closed. The company's own record since shows the steps the project prepared: clinical investigation, CE marking and the first large public order.
- A working productDeliveredTested by 1,100+ blind people.
- Regulatory approvalDeliveredCE-marked, per company.
- First marketDeliveredRomania, 1,500 preorders.
- Follow-on capitalDelivered€5M with the EIC Fund.
What Has Happened Since the Award
The record
From clinical study to glasses on order
.lumen says it tested its glasses with blind users during the EIC project and won CE marking; it raised €5M with the EIC Fund, and Romania's state programme took more than 1,500 preorders.
- Oct 2021EIC Accelerator cut-off.lumen: glasses that guide blind people
- Nov 2022EIC project startsSelf-driving-car style perception in a headset€2.17M grant
- Nov 2023Clinical investigationLargest of an assistive technology in Romania, per .lumen
- Oct 2024EIC project endsGlasses tested with blind users
- Jan 2025Funding roundCatalyst Romania lead; EIC Fund, Tigrim, SeedBlink€5M
- Oct 20251,500 preordersRomanian government disability programme, in 10 days
- Jan 2026CES awardCES 2026 accessibility award
- Sep 20261,100+ testersTested by blind people in 40+ countries; Japan expansion
.lumen and CORDIS.
The Money
The January 2025 round of €5 million was led by Catalyst Romania, with the EIC Fund, Tigrim Capital and €1 million raised from the crowd on SeedBlink in seven hours. .lumen also received investment from EIT Urban Mobility in December 2025. Its revenue is not public, and the price the Romanian programme pays per pair is not disclosed.
What cannot be checked
How many glasses have actually been delivered, what the state pays for them, .lumen's revenue and the EIC Fund's stake are not public.
Why Europe Should Care
.lumen, which describes itself as the first Romanian company to receive EIC funding, says it turned autonomous-driving technology into a medical device for blind people; Romania's national disability programme took preorders for the glasses. The EU backed it with both a grant and equity.
What the project promised
Glasses that empower blind people to move independently.
What the record shows
Per .lumen: CE-marked glasses, 1,500 state-programme preorders and 1,100+ testers; €5M raised with the EIC Fund.
The Verdict
From prototype to prescription
According to the company, .lumen has since moved from prototype to a CE-marked device with a first public buyer. Deliveries and revenue are not yet visible, and the company's own announcements are the only source for these steps.
.lumen has not been asked for comment for this article. It is based entirely on company statements and EU project data, linked throughout.
Industry
HealthMedical devices
- Focus
- Assistive devices
- Technologies
- Artificial intelligence
- Computer vision
- Autonomous navigation
- Keywords
- Visual impairment
- Independent mobility
- Wearables
- Delivery robots