.lumen wins the CES 2026 Accessibility Award on the global technology stage

📸 Photo captured by Thomas Delacollette, EIC.

January 8, Las Vegas, CES 2026 - .lumen, the European deep-tech company behind the world’s first Pedestrian Autonomous Driving AI technology, has won the CTA Foundation Pitch Competition for Accessibility at CES 2026, receiving an award valued at $10,000. The recognition highlights the breakthrough technology developed by .lumen that enables blind people to move independently, safely, and hands-free.

The CTA Foundation Pitch Competition brings together a select group of startups exclusively from the accessibility space, showcasing technologies designed to deliver measurable impact for people with disabilities. The award was presented on stage by a blind Paralympic champion, a moment that underscored the significance of the innovation being recognised.

The award honours .lumen's Glasses for the Blind, an AI-powered wearable that applies self-driving technology to the pedestrian world. Using real-time computer vision, spatial perception, and on-device AI, the system understands 3D space without relying on internet connectivity or pre-mapped environments, guiding users through a patented haptic interface.

 “I was born into a family where everyone except me had a disability. Years later, the technology we’re building is recognised here, on the CES stage, as the most innovative in its field. Feels like a full circle,” said Cornel Amariei, Founder & CEO of .lumen.

“When you realise there are only around 28,000 guide dogs for more than 330 million visually impaired people, you understand why technology has to change the equation. That this work is recognised here, for the first time for a Romanian startup, shows that world-class innovation can come from anywhere when the problem and the solution truly matter,” he adds.

Unlike traditional assistive tools, the .lumen Glasses do not require infrastructure changes or prior knowledge of the environment. The system works anywhere people walk, indoors or outdoors, and is already market-ready following extensive real-world testing.

Beyond accessibility, Pedestrian Autonomous Driving opens new possibilities in robotics and human-centric autonomy, with applications in humanoid robots, quadruped robots, and pedestrian delivery systems. .lumen has recently secured a grant to repurpose its technology for humanoid robots performing deliveries.

The CES Innovation Award places .lumen among a small group of companies redefining how technology is applied to real-world problems, as a deployed system delivering measurable impact. Besides this, the company has also been named a CES 2026 Innovation Award Honoree, while last year it won the US Army Pitch prize, amounting to another $10,000.

.lumen is currently launching in Europe, with its first deployments supported by a public assistive program in Romania, and plans to expand internationally.

About .lumen

.lumen is a Romanian deep-tech company building Pedestrian Autonomous Driving AI (PAD AI). First showcased through the .lumen Glasses for the Blind, the company’s technology enables safe, independent navigation and advances human-centric autonomy.

Media Contact

Bianca Iulia Simion | Chief Marketing Officer at .lumen | bianca@dotlumen.com |  www.dotlumen.com